“It was never my dream to be famous. I didn’t start acting to be a movie star. I started in the theater and my desire was to get better at my craft. It’s still my desire. I don’t consider myself a movie star, nor do I really have the desire to be one. I’m just an entertainer. An actor who works hard at his craft. Whatever labels people give me, that’s not really me or part of my process. Come and talk with me again on my 50th birthday and I may feel differently, but right now, I’m just taking the lesson from one of my old teachers who said, ‘Don’t be afraid to fail big.'” — Denzel Washington
“We have made definite strides. But right after…the Oscar, people would come up to me and say, ‘Ok, fine, I’m glad you won, but Glory was just another film about the black experience from a white perspective.’ So if that’s a problem, they should go out and make their own film, like Spike does.” — Denzel Washington
“I don’t think I ever heard of Malcolm X until after I got out on my own. But I remember my father’s speeches. He was so sure of what he believed in. I got the cadence of Malcolm’s speeches from him. There’s a certain rhythm to your way of speaking if you’re addressing a crowd with absolute, unwavering faith in the truth of what you say.” — Denzel Washington
The Equalizer 2 (2018)
2
