Rapper-actor Cliff ‘Method Man’ Smith won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series at the 52nd NAACP Image Awards for his role in Power Book II: Ghost. Shifting from music to acting is no easy task, but Smith has been able to do it while still pushing his pen over the years. He shared with us differences in preparing for the studio versus preparing for an acting role.

“Music, I have full control of that,” Smith said. ” It’s just the writing process, and then actually going in the booth and spitting. With acting, you get your script. You do your due diligence. You go over your workload. You prepare yourself, you memorize. First thing you try to do is memorize your lines. Then after you know your lines, and you’ve mastered your lines, you can play a little.”

“You show up to set, you’ve got to show up on time,” Smith continued. “Not just on time, but on time ready to work. It’s the best compliment you can give to everyone that’s there on set because they’re prepared, and they’re ready to work. Then you just let it ride from there. Let the work speak for itself.”

Watch the interview below, and check out the full list of NAACP winners here.