Acting is just a way of making a living, the family is life.
Any good piece of material like Shakespeare ought to be open to reinterpretation.
Black or white good parts are hard to come by. A good actor with a good opportunity has a shot; without the opportunity it doesn't matter how good you are.
Dakota Fanning is a child, but she is a wonderful actor. I don't know what a child actor is. She's an actor who's a child.
Everybody has a job to do. There are people in Iraq on both sides of this war who do what they do for religious reasons, and they feel with God on their side. Some people are good at annihilating people. Maybe that's their gift.
Family is life; acting is making a living.
Growing up I didn't watch movies.
He is Rubin Hurricane Carter, so the Hurricane part of him I came to know in myself through the boxing training. I found out that I liked to fight, didn't mind inflicting pain, didn't want to get hurt, but I had it in me.
I and haven't been unemployed for 20 years. I'm an exception to the rule.
I didn't want to be known as Mr Biography. There was no plan. Who knew when I met Richard Attenborough, when he asked me to do Cry Freedom, what the future held?
I don't concern myself with award. I'd been to the party enough times to know it really didn't matter.
I don't like running around for two weeks without saying anything, ducking. I don't care for it-fight scenes and all, it's just not for me. I'm getting too old for that stuff. It hurts.
I don't think a national health care system will be the solution. But as we all know, there are obviously a lot of people who fall between the cracks in the system we have now.
I don't think some college student is going to change his mind from graduating to killing someone because of this movie. I don't give a movie that much credit.
I don't want to say I don't care, but I don't know what people are going to think and I don't do it for what I think they're going to think.
I get nervous when a picture goes beyond two hours.
I go to football games with my kids. Basically, I'm a driver and assistant coach.
I had a lot of success from the start. I never really was tested for long periods of time. I got my first professional job while I was a senior in college. I signed with the William Morris Agency before I graduated.
I have a new respect for filmmakers, that's for sure, 'cause it's not easy. If I'm allowed to, I'll be directing for the rest of my life. I love the process.
I have to see the movie with an audience.
I just directed my first film and I've got this great new movie. I'm just enjoying life.
I just try to be honest and true to the character and play the part.
I made a commitment to completely cut out drinking and anything that might hamper me from getting my mind and body together. And the floodgates of goodness have opened upon me - spiritually and financially.
I never really had the classic struggle. I had faith.
I played Othello, but I didn't sit around thinking how Laurence Olivier did it when he played it. That wouldn't do me any good.
I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you're prepared for it.
I still have my unemployment books and I remember when I worked for the sanitation department and the post office.
I think the bottom of the totem pole is African-American women, or women of colour. I think they get the least opportunities in Hollywood.
I wasn't allowed to go to movies when I was kid; my father was a minister. 101 Dalmatians and King of Kings, that was the extent of it.
I work hard for the audience. It's entertainment. I don't need validation.
I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.
I'm more experienced having directed one film and acted in many more.
I'm not a film buff. I don't watch a lot of movies.
I'm not attracted to playing the role of a soldier. I guess there's more soldier and cop films made.
I'm not in the loop; I don't know any actors, really, just the ones I work with.
I've always felt protected. That's the God's honest truth.
I've been cleaning my closets, which is good. I gotta let stuff go. I'm throwing away papers, I'm taking time off.
I've been fortunate. I don't pick scripts. Scripts pick me.
I've done so many war movies. I had done a lot of talking to psychiatrists.
I've made three films with Spike and I've made two with Norman. I will continue to work with both of them. I love working with both of them.
I've worked in a factory. I was a garbage man. I worked in a post office. It's not that long ago. I like to think that I'm just a regular guy.
I've worked with children all my life.
If I am a cup maker, I'm interested in making the best cup I possibly can. My effort goes into that cup, not what people think about it.
If there can be considered racism, it's to do with the lack of opportunities for writers and producers and the people behind the camera.
If you don't trust the pilot, don't go.
If you have an enemy, then learn and know your enemy, don't just be mad at him or her.
If you take the time and effort to write your own material and absolutely refuse to be denied the right to make your film, it is difficult whatever colour you are.
If you're about to lose your child and there's nothing you can do about it, the pain won't go away with any amount of money.
Imagine that: a movie about smart people.
In any profession it gets to be a grind.
In Los Angeles, everyone is a star.
It is just a movie. On the other hand, I see the impact that it has on people.
It's a movie, so everything's heightened. The stakes are higher.
It's very difficult for women of any colour in Hollywood. The men get older and the women get younger somehow.
Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.
Manchurian Global is like a Halliburton or a Enron or McDonalds. That's nothing new.
Meryl and Katharine Hepburn are probably the two greatest actresses of this and the last century.
My career for a long time has been about the business of doing something about the anger that I felt, and through the roles I play, I am not as upset because I understand what I'm up against.
My mother never gave up one me. I messed up in school so much they were sending me home, but my mother sent me right back.
My mother used to tell me man gives the award, God gives the reward. I don't need another plaque.
My role 14 years ago in Richard III - that was the first time I played a bad guy and learned a lot about it - they have all the fun!
One good thing about acting in film is that it's good therapy.
Outside Fiddler on the Roof, I don't think I've ever done a picture 2 hours and 25 minutes.
People don't come over to the house. My wife socializes, not me. I don't have a lot of friends.
The Hunger is a film I really liked. It didn't do well artistically or financially.
The last few years I've been saying I was ready to quit. It wasn't that interesting to me. Now that I'm directing, it's all new again.
The NAACP has been very active in Los Angeles, and they've been putting a lot of pressure on the studios to hire more people.
The poorest people are the sweetest people.
The time to worrying about flying is when you're on the ground. When you're up in the air, it's too late. No point in worrying about it then.
There's a struggle to do regular things because it's not a normal situation. I just do it anyway, I don't care.
Van Gogh was out there and burning up in the sun and I dug that, nobody bought any of his paintings and now look at him.
War is the most extreme circumstance and it makes for heightened drama.
When I did A Soldier's Story, I was very young and green and thought I knew everything-now I know I know everything!
When I was a child I thought I saw an angel. It had wings and kinda looked like my sister. I opened the door so some light could come into the room, and it sort of faded away. My mother said it was probably my Guardian Angel.
When people protest and are upset with a movie, it becomes a big hit. They hated Passion of The Christ, it worked out pretty well for the box office. So let's get that going.
Where I think the most work needs to be done is behind the camera, not in front of it.
Working on Cry Freedom was wonderful in that I got to go to Africa for the first time, and that was an amazing thing. But in terms of the role itself, I don't have a favourite.
You don't know when you're being watched. That's one of the weird things about celebrity. It's my least favorite part of acting, celebrity.
You have to grab moments when they happen. I like to improvise and ad lib.
You never know how you're going to affect people.
You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That's a part of it.
You worry about where the camera's going to be, let me worry about being heavy.
(In 1998) "Acting's like someone asking you for years to write the characters, but they write the book."
I'm very proud to be black, but black is not all I am. That's my cultural historical background, my genetic makeup, but it's not all of who I am nor is it the basis from which I answer every question.
[on where he likes to keep his Oscars] "Next to each other."
I have a friend who says 'the first 50 was for them, this 50's for me'. I like that. The weirdest part of it, or even the saddest part, is that you start to see people die. You go 'Man! He wasn't even that old'. I lost a friend recently who died of a heart attack. He was 58. When I was 20, 58 was old. It ain't now." - on approaching 5
That ain't fair, really. Michelle Pfeiffer hasn't been finding a lot of work recently because she doesn't like what a woman her age is offered. That's a real double standard. You get Sean Connery, who gets older and older, still playing opposite young ladies, but it doesn't work the other way around." - on working with young female co-star
I have to try and find a way to remain positive because those days are boring to me, really, just hanging off the side of a building, fighting or grunting." - on shooting action scene
People say, 'Congratulations, you finally got the Oscar', and I have to correct them: 'Actually, it's my second one. I won for Glory (1989) in 1989.' Some people say, 'Yeah, but that was for a supporting actor role' but for me, it's the same thing.
Probably Shakespeare. I did Othello in college, and Richard III, and those are the two roles I'd like to revisit. Movies? There's a couple I wish I hadn't done. I won't say which ones, but there are a couple of mistakes there." - on what roles he'd like to red
I was a mess. I don't know if I ate bad food or if it was too much tension, but I got sick. There was a huge traffic jam, and I remember saying 'Look, it took me all this time to get here - I'm showing up in a limousine and I don't care how late I am.' By the time I got there, there was no red carpet. Everyone was inside because the show had already started." - on being late for the 1987 Oscar
I root for the Knicks. I root for the Yankees." (when asked which does he call home, L.A. or New York)
The only way I'm going to L.A. is with a job." (when asked what prompted him to go to Hollywood)
I remain thankful for the gifts that I've been given and I try to use them in a good way, in a positive way.
For the movie Glory, before going out to shoot the whipping scene I'm backstage in a room, and I'm thinking, how am I gonna do this scene? All I did - you know people ask me, how did you prepare? - I say, I prayed. And I got on my knees and they were waiting for me, and I prayed. And then I prayed to all the spirits. I said, "Look fellas, ladies," and I'm talking about those who have been, and I said, "Look I don't know, I'm just rolling with you all. Just whatever happens, I'm going. And I said are you with me? Come on!" I'm serious! And I went out there and what hit me was, I'm in charge. Never put my head down. This isn't the first time this has happened to me the character - and in fact I had the guy build all the scars to put on my back - and I went out there with an attitude that I'm going to take this and not fold. But it hurt. And the tear was actually real. You know, you just allow it and you're thankful for it. It's not technical. It's not science. It's spirit.
I just didn't see myself in Amistad (1997). I ain't putting no chains around my neck. I'm not in the mood right now, too edgy. It just wasn't for me. I'm not having it. I'm like, 'Yeah, that's what happened then, but how about me cutting everybody's head off and end the movie there?'" (on refusing the role in Amistad (1997)
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#77). [1995]
Children: John David (b. July 28, 1984), Katia (b. 1987), and twins Malcolm and Olivia (b. 1991).
Son, Malcolm, was named in honor of Malcolm X.
To prepare for his role as boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter in The Hurricane (1999), Washington worked out for a year with L.A. boxing trainer Terry Claybon.
Attended Fordham University, receiving a B.A. in Journalism.
1996 Harvard Foundation Award
In a Newsweek cover story about the biological basis of the perception of beauty, he was used as a key example in a scientific explanation why he is considered an extremely handsome man.
According to a 1995 Premiere magazine article, Denzel confronted director Quentin Tarantino when he visted the set of Crimson Tide (1995). Quentin had done an uncredited rewrite of the script. Denzel lambasted Tarantino about his use of racial slurs in his films. Tarantino got embarrassed and wanted to move the conversation to a more private area. Denzel said, "No, if were going to discuss it, let's discuss it now." Denzel later said he still felt that Quentin was "a fine artist".
Denzel is named after his father who was in turn named after the doctor, Doctor Denzel, who had delivered him.
In the early 1980s, years before he portrayed Malcolm X in the Spike Lee film Malcolm X (1992), Washington portrayed Malcolm in the off-Broadway production of "When the Chickens Came Home to Roost", at the Henry Street Theatre in NYC.
Frequent collaborator of Spike Lee.
Named one of E!'s "top 20 entertainers of 2001."
Supports charities such as the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, and the Gathering Place (an AIDS hospice).
Met his wife Pauletta Washington in 1977 when both had small roles in the TV-movie Wilma (1977) (TV) (she was billed as Pauletta Pearson), the story of runner Wilma Rudolph. They wed five years later.
His father was a Pentecostal minister; his mother a beautician and former gospel singer. They divorced when he was 14.
Is a spokesperson for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, having been a member of the Boys Club once himself.
Only the second actor of color (after Sidney Poitier) to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (for Training Day (2001)). Poitier received the honorary Academy Award that same year.
Father of actor John David Washington
Ranked #28 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List. Had ranked #40 in 2002.
Often works with director Edward Zwick.
Cousin is CBS anchorman Ukee Washington.
He and his family are members of the same church as actors Dwayne Winstead, Sy Richardson, Marvin Wright-Bey, and Fitz Houston.
Was awarded the title of "Police Chief for a Day" when he was a member of The Boys and Girls Club of America as a child. The photo was shown during his latest appearance on "Live with Regis and Kathie Lee" (1989).
Tom Hanks said working with Washington on Philadelphia (1993) was like "going to film school". Hanks said he learned more about acting by watching Denzel than from anyone else.
When he was very young he was at a barber's shop with his mother and a nice old lady sitting in the corner asked his mother to write his full name down. When his mother asked why she said "Because he's going to entertain millions one day". His mother gave the old lady his name and it wasn't until later that they found out she was rumored to be some kind of local fortune teller.
Cites star-athletes like Jim Brown and Gale Sayers as the role models of his youth.
First studied Biology in hopes of becoming a doctor, then switched to Political Science then to a Journalism/Drama major in college.
Has worn some kind of military uniform in at least six of his films.
Ranked #59 on VH1's 100 Hottest Hotties
Because of his pay-or-play deal on the doomed 2005 "American Gangster" project (which was to be directed by Antoine Fuqua), he was paid $20 million even though the film did not move ahead.
Premiere Magazine ranked him as #39 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005).
Chosen as People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive [1996]
First African-American actor to receive two Academy Awards
Has played two soldiers who have suffered traumatic, life-changing experiences while fighting in the 1991 Persian Gulf War: Lt. Col. Nathaniel Serling in Courage Under Fire (1996) and Maj. Ben Marco in The Manchurian Candidate (2004).
Though his first theatrical film was a comedy (Carbon Copy (1981)), he has only done three more since. Has mentioned that he's always wanted to do a great one.
He and his family visited the troops at Brook Army Medical Center, in San Antonio, Texas (BAMC). There are some buildings there called Fisher Houses. The Fisher House is a Hotel where soldiers' families can stay, for little or no charge, while their soldier is staying in the Hospital. BAMC has quite a few of these houses on base, but as you can imagine, they are almost filled most of the time. He was given a tour of one of the Fisher Houses and subsequent to his visit sent them one of the largest donations they've ever received.
His performance as Malcolm X in Malcolm X (1992) is ranked #17 on Premiere Magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
Is the second of three children.
As of 2006, he is the most Oscar-winning (two) and most nominated (five) black actor/actress in Academy history.
Son John David Washington recently signed as a running back with the St. Louis Rams (May 2006).
Has two films on the American Film Institute's 100 Most Inspiring Movies of All Time. They are: Glory (1989) at #31 and Philadelphia (1993) at #20.
Has worked with both Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. Ridley will direct him in the upcoming American Gangster (2007). He has worked with Ridley's brother, Tony, on three films, which are: Crimson Tide (1995), Man on Fire (2004), and Deja Vu (2006).
Turned down Se7en (1995). He opted to do another detective thriller that year, Devil in a Blue Dress (1995).
Claims his personal favorite performances are his works in Cry Freedom (1987), Glory (1989), Malcolm X (1992), and Training Day (2001).
Turned down the role of Detective David Mills in Se7en (1995).
Turned down the role of Cinque in Amistad (1997).
His daughter, Katia Washington, currently attends Yale University.
Good friends with actress Julia Roberts.
Cited as America's Favorite Movie Star by a Harris Poll conducted in 2006, in which he starred in Inside Man (2006) and Deja Vu (2006).
At one point, was to star as Dr. Alex Cross in Kiss the Girls (1997), had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.
He was presented with the honorary degree Doctor of Humane Letters from Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia on May 20, 2007.
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