Michael Ealy is grateful for all the love and support he's gotten from Black women over the course of his career.

The Think Like a Man star wants to be taken seriously as an actor, and that's meant taking on some tough roles. Not the least of which was his terrifying performance in Tyler Perry's For Colored Girls, in which he played an unstable and abusive veteran.

While people might sometimes confuse actors with the roles they play, Michael told Bossip.com that it was a relief to him that so many people knew he was not the awful person he portrayed onscreen.

"I genuinely love all the beautiful Black women that came up to me and wanted to hug me after that performance," Michael said. "It wasn't easy, and I was worried that people would look at me differently after that. And the amount of support I got was tremendous."

That understanding is so important to Michael that it's one of the top things he looks for in a lady.

"Compassion and consideration for others," Michael listed, when asked what qualities a woman must have to capture his heart. "Nothing worse than a selfish woman. Selfish and self-absorbed? Walk away. I can't deal with you."

On the more superficial side, he confessed, "I like long legs."

There are plenty of women lining up to be with Michael, heartthrob that he is. Oddly, one role he doesn't see himself filling is that of a sex symbol.

"If someone wants to put that title on me, God bless them. I don't carry myself as such, and I will never, ever think of myself as such," said Michael. "For me, the most important thing when I came into this business is to show some sort of talent so I can have longevity and not be another pretty face."

Michael admitted that he's not completely disregarding the love, stating, "I'll take the sex appeal label. I'll take that label any day of the week. It's better than not being that guy, so I'll take it."

With his career ambitions, fans will get plenty of opportunity to enjoy him on the big and small screens!

"After Takers, I wanted to diversify my body of work," Michael explained. "That's why I have a romantic comedy coming, I have an action comedy coming from a television perspective.

He added, "Now I want to show them the lighter side, the more fun side of me."