Bravery isn’t just important when you’re standing up for your friends or your loved ones. It’s important to understand when it’s braver to stay silent than to speak up.

Although In the Heat of the Night had a collection of characters that made up the show, certain episodes were more devoted to the plots of specific characters than others. While audiences may simply chalk it up to the business of television, actors are more attuned to these matters.

David Hart, who starred as Parker Williams in the series, acknowledged that there were times on the series where he was forced to give away the limelight he had rightfully earned. Though it was difficult, Hart understood it was simply the nature of the beast, and in time, he would be rewarded.

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“There are times that I would see things that had been written for me to go to other actors, and I’d just have to swallow it,” said Hart during an interview with the Pensacola News Journal. “But there were many other times when there were great things for me to do, nice little bits between me and Carroll. So it’s give and take.”

But as an actor, one thing that Hart took pride in was control over his character. He explained that he used his own special analysis and interpretation to bring Parker Williams to life.

“Since Day One, I’ve always put my own handle on it,” Hart said during an interview with the Winston-Salem Journal. “I change the dialogue a little bit and sometimes come up with different ideas.”

Hart said that his character had the guts of steel, but a heart of gold. Both qualities served him well in the police force. “If it comes down to knocking heads, he can knock heads pretty quick,” said the actor. “But if he can talk somebody out of something, that’s what he’ll try to do.”