Denzel Washington Fun Facts, Quotes and Tweets


24th January 2017

Quote: "I am just lucky to have been entrusted with this project and to have the chance to work with the amazing Viola Davis and the rest of my talented cast and crew." Denzel Washington is thrilled with his latest Oscars Best Actor nomination for his role in Fences. The movie star has been nominated seven times, winning Best Supporting Actor for Glory in 1989 and Best Actor in 2002 for Training Day.


12th January 2017

Quote: "I better have a good part, or he ain't getting in the house! No, he's a very talented young filmmaker and I'd just be glad to be in (it)." Denzel Washington would love to work with his 25-year-old son Malcolm, who recently graduated from film school.


30th November 2016

Quote: "It's strictly business. If I loan you $25 million, I want my money back. I don't want to hear about the social impact. That's great for you, but now I'm $25 million in the hole, so next time you come to ask me..." Denzel Washington on the issues facing black directors in Hollywood.


5th September 2016

Fact: Denzel Washington has narrated a new documentary about jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane, which will debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in Canada this week (08Sep16). Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary will feature Washington reciting Coltrane's words.


26th July 2016

Fact: Denzel Washington's remake of classic western The Magnificent Seven will open this year's (16) Toronto International Film Festival in Canada. Antoine Fuqua's new movie also features Chris Pratt and Ethan Hawke.


27th September 2014

Fact: Denzel Washington grew up with rapper Ludacris' father, Wayne Bridges, and they once dressed up to perform as members of The Beatles for a talent show at their local Boys' Club youth organisation in Mount Vernon, New York. Their musical skills helped the pair go on to win the competition.


26th September 2014

Quote: "My dressing room was on the ground floor and they put a little dot on my door. I was like, 'What is that?' This is like the safe room for the President... They would put them in there if something happened... Someone very important had to use the restroom, so they used my restroom; I had to wait outside my own dressing room." Denzel Washington had a very special visitor while he was onstage in A Raisin in the Sun earlier this year (14).


8th September 2014

Quote: "He was just such a sweet, nice man. A gentle person. And really gave me a lot of confidence at a young age. And that was my first Academy Award nomination, was Cry Freedom. Just a wonderful human being as well as filmmaker." Denzel Washington pays tribute to late actor/director Lord Richard Attenborough who he worked with on 1987 movie Cry Freedom. The legendary Brit passed away last month (Aug14).


16th June 2014

Fact: Hip-hop superstars LL Cool J and Jay Z and his wife Beyonce were among the celebrities who enjoyed a night out at the theatre on Saturday (14Jun14) as they took in one of the final performances of Denzel Washington's Broadway show A Raisin in the Sun. The new production of the Lorraine Hansberry play, which recently won three Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play, closed on Sunday (15Jun14) after a limited 14-week run.


14th October 2013

Quote: "When you're at home and she's 3,000 miles away and she calls and she says, "I'm rubbing my tatas (breasts) on Denzel (Washington) tomorrow', you're like, 'Wait a second now, wait a second'. But no, I think if you don't have that passion and you don't have that heat and you're not jealous then something is wrong." Singer Robin Thicke admits his wife Paula Patton's topless scene with Denzel Washington in 2 Guns made him jealous.


25th September 2013

Quote: "Denzel was always asking me what I was doing but I didn't want to share that information. Nobody knew because I don't like to count my chickens before they hatch so I didn't want to say that I was doing it until I actually finished. What if I said I'm doing this and I didn't finish?" Mark Wahlberg refused to tell Denzel Washington he was busy studying for his high school diploma while they were filming their action movie 2 Guns. The actor graduated this summer (Jun13).


6th August 2013

Fact: Hollywood actor Denzel Washington will narrate a U.S. Tv documentary about the 1963 civil rights march in Washington, D.C. The March will air in the U.S. on 27 August (13), a day after the 50th anniversary of the protest, during which Martin Luther King, Jr. made his famous 'I Have a Dream' speech.


1st August 2013

Quote: "I kept it a secret (until) right before the premiere. She had had a glass of Champagne and I was like, 'Real quick, mum, you're gonna see my boobies a little bit!'" Actress Paula Patton gave her mother a last-minute warning about her semi-naked sex scene with Denzel Washington in her new movie, 2 Guns, at the Los Angeles premiere on Monday (29Jul13).


13th February 2013

Fact: Denzel Washington, Dame Judi Dench and Dustin Hoffman are among the stars who were feted for making movies for an older audience by the 2013 Movies for Grownups Awards in Los Angeles. The American Association of Retired Persons (Aarp) award winners were announced last month (Jan13) and celebrated at a lunch in California on Tuesday (12Feb13).


23rd January 2013

Quote: "I can remember going to the Oscars the first time and I literally got sick to my stomach, I was too excited and I had a bit of a gastronomic problem." Denzel Washington's first trip to the Academy Awards was memorable for all the wrong reasons.


14th January 2013

Quote: "It was her first red carpet date." Denzel Washington played the proud dad at the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday (13Jan13) - he took his eldest daughter Olivia to the prizegiving.


9th December 2012

Fact: Drive director Nicolas Winding Refn has signed on to take charge of Denzel Washington's remake of hit Tv series The Equalizer. Washington will play the hardcore private detective Edward Woodward portrayed in the cult 1980s show.


9th November 2012

Quote: "Nelson Mandela used to call me on New Year's Day (and say), 'Denzel, I'm going to come to your house'. He actually came to my house. He wanted my wife to fry him some chicken... One of the security guards where we live was like, 'Sylvester Stallone keeps looking over the wall. Think we should let him in?'" Denzel Washington on his most extraordinary houseguest.


9th November 2012

Quote: "I'm the only one in the family that doesn't really watch movies... I've never been much of a movie person." Denzel Washington isn't a fan of cinema nights.


5th November 2012

Quote: "We've all tied one on (got drunk), but if I had been drinking while I was shooting, it's be harder to star disciplined, just to get up in the morning. You are a little more hung over, grouchier." Denzel Washington didn't need to get drunk to play an alcoholic pilot in new movie Flight.


4th November 2012

Quote: "I was shocked by his death... If you had given me a list of 25 people, I don't think I'd have picked him... You don't know what's inside a man's head." Denzel Washington was stunned by director Tony Scott's suicide in August (12). The pair worked together on five movies.


30th October 2012

Quote: "I look the pilots in the eye now, I tell you that... It's a lonely job; those guys fly all over the world and end up staying in hotels in foreign places. Long hours." Playing a drunk pilot in new film Flight has made Denzel Washington a more observant passenger.


30th October 2012

Quote: "Back in the '80s me and this guy..., we decided we were gonna drink in a scene because we were supposed to be drinking in an actual movie and we got drunk and the director sent us home... He said, 'You're terrible,' so I learned my lesson... You can go online and YouTube 'drunks'... The person who is being videotaped usually doesn't know it." Denzel Washington on how he prepared to play a functioning alcoholic in new film Flight.


30th October 2012

Fact: Denzel Washington braved the storm in New York City on Monday night (29Oct12) to make it to the taping of late night host David Letterman's The Late Show. The movie star arrived onstage wearing a yellow raincoat. The show was taped without its traditional studio audience.


17th October 2012

Quote: "The trumpet was killin' her, just killin' her!" Denzel Washington's trumpet sessions - as he prepared to play Bleek Gilliam in 1990 movie Mo' Better Blues - were painful for his wife Pauletta, a former concert pianist.


16th October 2012

Quote: "That hurt me so hard. That's my boy and that hurt me more than you know." Denzel Washington almost missed the weekend (13-14Oct12) premiere of his new movie Flight after watching his favourite New York Yankees star Derek Jeter break his ankle in the team's defeat against the Detroit Tigers.


19th September 2012

Quote: "When I see him, he's always uncomfortable. You can see that uncomfortableness." Actor Denzel Washington won't be voting for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.


19th September 2012

Quote: "Sidney Poitier told me this years ago: 'If they see you for free all week, they won't pay to see you on the weekend, because they feel like they've seen you. If you walk by the magazine section in the supermarket and they've known you all their life, there's no mystery. They can't take the ride.' My professional work is being a better actor. I don't know how to be a celebrity." Denzel Washington on avoiding the pitfalls of fame.


21st August 2012

Quote: "Tony Scott was a great director, a genuine friend and it is unfathomable to think that he is now gone. He had a tremendous passion for life and for the art of filmmaking and was able to share this passion with all of us through his cinematic brilliance. My family sends their prayers and deepest condolences to the entire Scott family." Denzel Washington mourns the death of his frequent collaborator, director Tony Scott. The pair worked on five movies together, including Man on Fire and Crimson Tide.


25th July 2012

Fact: Denzel Washington is reportedly in final negotiations to portray The Equalizer on the big screen. The Oscar winner is slated to play no-nonsense private investigator Robert MCCall in Sony's revamp of the hit 1980s TV series, starring the late Edward Woodward.


1st March 2012

Quote: "I hate ants. I want to crush all ants." Denzel Washington on his pet peeve.


2nd February 2012

Quote: "I think for any actor, young or old, it's pretty exciting working with a guy like him. He's a living breathing masterclass in acting." Ryan Reynolds on his Safe House co-star Denzel Washington.


24th November 2010

Quote: "Everybody comes home. Four (kids) all over the place, Sacramento, Philadelphia, New York and one's home." Denzel Washington is looking forward to Thanksgiving on Thursday (25Nov10) - it reunites him with his four kids, who are studying at universities across the U.S.


19th November 2010

Fact: Anne Hathaway and Denzel Washington will host the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway on 11 December (10). The show will feature performances from Elvis Costello, Robyn, Barry Manilow and Herbie Hancock.


11th November 2010

Quote: "I tried to give him advice. As they say in boxing, 'Protect yourself at al times.' My father instinct kicked in." Denzel Washington on meeting teen pop star Justin Bieber.


10th November 2010

Quote: "I learned how to drive it! I drove it! They say they do 70/80 (miles-per-hour), I got up to 40/50." Denzel Washington experienced the buzz of taking control of a train while filming new action thriller UNSTOPPABLE.


10th November 2010

Quote: "It's live, you can't say cut, you have to deal with people who talk to you during the show, say things like, 'Psst! Denzel, come here!' ...I did a play on Broadway 20 years ago. My first entrance I go right by the stage and this woman is like, 'Psst! Denzel!' I'm like, 'Let me go do this scene, and I'll come right back!'" Oscar winner Denzel Washington is amazed by the lengths some theatre-goers go to to speak to the star.


10th November 2010

Quote: "I sell them! No, the Oscars I keep next to each other, so they can chat!" Two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington stores his honours in a special display room.


10th November 2010

Quote: "There's a difference between a home and a house. When your kids leave, it's not a home, it's just a house. It's great! No, it's... different. But everybody's coming home for Thanksgiving so I'm looking forward to that." Father-of-four Denzel Washington can't wait for his children to return home from school for the holidays.


10th November 2010

Quote: "I am actually, God as my witness, on top of a train going 50 miles an hour and I'm running, running on top of the thing. It was stupid, very stupid." Oscar winner Denzel Washington admits agreeing to pull off the stunt himself for new movie UNSTOPPABLE, about a freight train speeding out of control, wasn't the cleverest of ideas.


9th November 2010

Quote: "Money doesn't buy happiness. I once heard a pastor say, 'You'll never see a removal van behind a hearse - you can't take it with you.' So what you have and where you've been doesn't help in terms of who you are. The question I'm interested in is, 'Who have you helped?'" Hollywood actor Denzel Washington has little interest in material wealth.


28th October 2010

Quote: "Ladies, I kissed him. That's right. Get jealous." Rosario Dawson on smooching Denzel Washington on the set of their new film UNSTOPPABLE.


1st October 2010

Fact: Denzel Washington will host the 17th annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway in December (10). The show will feature performances by Florence & the MAChine, Herbie Hancock and Elvis Costello among others.


6th September 2010

Fact: Hollywood actor Denzel Washington and his wife Pauletta are set to be honoured for their humanitarian efforts. The couple will be presented with the Prince Rainier III Award by the Princess Grace Foundation at a ceremony in New York in November (10).


14th January 2010

Quote: "I never set out to be a movie star. I remember when I was an actor in New York after growing up in Harlem I was just hoping to (earn) $300 (£188) a week. When I achieved that, I thought I was on top of the world." Hollywood actor Denzel Washington never anticipated making millions at the box-office.


13th January 2010

Quote: “How are you going to have the show without him? Who's going to insult people?” Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington wades into the debate following Simon Cowell's announcement he is set to leave the judging panel on hit TV show American Idol.


12th January 2010

Quote: "I'm a work in progress, like everybody else. I'm just an ordinary guy with a great job. And, like any human being, I'm constantly trying to improve." Double Oscar winner Denzel Washington is a humble man.


12th January 2010

Quote: "I knew it was a great script, but I was a little nervous working with a first-time director. (But it) didn't look like he lost any sleep waiting for me." Denzel Washington regrets turning down the lead role in filmmaker Tony Gilroy's legal drama Michael Clayton. The 2008 movie scored seven Oscar nominations, including one for eventual star George Clooney, and won Tilda Swinton her first Academy Award.


12th January 2010

Fact: Denzel Washington's son John David is the co-producer of his dad's new movie, The Book of Eli.


12th January 2010

Quote: "Everything works out the way it should. It wasn't for me, it was for George." Denzel Washington on passing up on the title role in Michael Clayton, which won George Clooney an Oscar.


11th January 2010

Quote: "Don't drink, go to bed and stretch - there. The week is brutal. I'm not 27 anymore. It's not like when we were young, doing the play then going out all night, then sleep two hours and go right back to it. Those days are over. I go to bed." Denzel Washington, 55, will have a strict routine to help him get through the eight-shows a week when he returns to Broadway in upcoming play Fences in April (10).


11th January 2010

Quote: "There were like 10,000 people out there some nights. So I just decided, if you actually came to the show, I'd sign your Playbill. (But) I might be too old to stand out there for a half an hour now. I might have to do it in a wheelchair!" Denzel Washington admits he may have to curb the time spent signing autographs for fans when he takes to the Broadway stage in a revival of August Wilson play Fences in April (10). Thousands of devotees showed up to support his turn in a 2005 production of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.


10th January 2010

Quote: "I used to mess with Tom. He was barely eating at all, and I would put, like, 200 Almond Joys (candy bars) in his drawer to give him a hard time. I'd pretend to sneeze and all these Snickers would fall on the ground." Denzel Washington teased a starving Tom Hanks mercilessly on the set of PHILADELPHIA.


9th January 2010

Fact: Denzel Washington and his wife Pauletta's romance was pre-destined - she was shooting her last day on the set of 1977 film Wilma when her future husband showed up to film his first professional acting project. He says, "That was 32 years ago... I was seven."


9th January 2010

Fact: Denzel Washington landed more than a cheque and screen time with George Segal in 1981 movie CARBON COPY - producers agreed to pay for dental work, so the actor could get his crooked teeth fixed.


28th July 2009

Quote: "I should have worn a costume... and come down here like a Ninja Turtle or some old school (character)." Denzel Washington felt underdressed at the Comic-Con comic book convention in San Diego, California.


17th June 2009

Quote: "I told her I would tell her the truth about what I thought. And she's good, she's very good, she obviously got it from her mother's side!" Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington jokes about his daughter KATIA's talents as an aspiring actress.


11th June 2009

Quote: "That was a midlife crisis kind of thing. When my oldest son turned 16, he wanted to get his ears pierced. I said, 'I'm going to go with you.'" Denzel Washington on his pierced ears.


8th June 2009

Fact: Basketball fanatic Denzel Washington got his Los Angeles Lakers season floor seats from Walter Matthau, who played the original GARBER character in 1974 movie THE TAKING OF PELHAM, ONE TWO THREE. Washington plays Garber in the upcoming remake.


23rd May 2009

Fact: Thursday night's (21May09) basketball showdown between the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets was an all-star affair - Denzel Washington, Leonardo Dicaprio, Will Ferrell and Jake Gyllenhaal were spotted among the celebrity visitors to Staples Center, while Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise treated their sons to courtside tickets.


3rd May 2009

Fact: The big fight between boxers Manny Pacquiao and Ricky Hatton brought out the stars on Saturday night (02May09) - celebrities including Mariah Carey, JAY-Z, Sean Combs, Denzel Washington, Adam Sandler and Mark Wahlberg were all ringside at the Las Vegas match to watch Pacquiao knock out Brit Hatton in just two rounds.


9th March 2009

Quote: "I would like to get back with Denzel... Something ferocious." Julia Roberts is keen to team up with pal Denzel Washington on the big screen again.


23rd January 2009

Quote: "Oh my god, I cried for a day when they came. I always get sent orchids, but I swear to you, I have never taken care of an orchid like I'm taking care of this one. I have the spray bottle out every day, I talk to it, I sing to it." Oscar-nominated actress TARAJI P. HENSON loves the flowers Denzel Washington sent her for good luck.


25th September 2008

Quote: "WILL and I are working on a comedy we're gonna do in the next year or so... I'm the straight guy and he does the jokes." Denzel Washington on his upcoming movie with pal Will Smith.


17th January 2008

Quote: "I used to think acting was my life. But when I caught that first child, I realised, 'This is the miracle of life. This is what it's all about." Denzel Washington on the wonders of fatherhood.


27th December 2007

Fact: DENZEL WHITAKER, the teenage screen son of Forest Whitaker's character in Denzel Washington's new movie THE GREAT DEBATERS, played Macy Gray's kid in Training Day. The 17-year-old is not related to either Washington or Whitaker, despite his uncanny name link.


24th December 2007

Quote: "Opening the gifts Christmas morning, videotaping the kids, eating. Big meal. Just having everybody home. I'm looking forward to it." Denzel Washington prepares for a traditional holiday.


14th December 2007

Quote: "Acting to me is making a living. It's not my life." Oscar winner Denzel Washington refuses to take his job too seriously.


13th December 2007

Quote: "I would vote for OPRAH. She's a very compassionate person. She loves to give back and is all about helping others, which are fine qualities in a president." Denzel Washington would vote for Oprah Winfrey if she ran for the U.S. presidency.


27th November 2007

Fact: Actress KIMBERLEY ELISE has officially become Denzel Washington's big screen wife - the movie star picked her to play his spouse in new film THE GREAT DEBATERS after the couple played man and wife in John Q. Elise also appeared in Washington's THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE.


27th November 2007

Fact: One of the young stars of Denzel Washington and Forest Whitaker's new movie THE GREAT DEBATERS is called DENZEL WHITAKER.


22nd November 2007

Quote: "I knew he'd play it like a big tuna, but I also knew DENZEL had nothing better in front of him." Director Ridley Scott knew Denzel Washington wouldn't turn down a starring role in his new movie, AMERICAN GANGSTER.


8th November 2007

Fact: Julia Roberts presented her friend and THE PELICAN BRIEF co-star Denzel Washington with an award for Excellence In Film at the BAFTA/LA Cunard Britannia Awards in Los Angeles on 1 November (07).


5th November 2007

Quote: "Somebody suggested we should do a remake of THE ODD COUPLE. It could be kind of fun." Russell Crowe is considering reteaming with AMERICAN GANGSTER co-star Denzel Washington for a remake of Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau's classic comedy.


3rd November 2007

Quote: "The (St. Louis) Rams are 0 and 8, they're 0 and 8. Now, I'm not saying my boy should play, I'm not saying he could turn things around." Denzel Washington feels his American footballer son JOHN should be playing regularly as his team attempts to end a string of losses.


25th September 2007

Fact: Denzel Washington and director Tony Scott are teaming up for a fourth time to remake 1974 classic THE TAKING OF PELHAM ONE TWO THREE.


5th September 2007

Fact: Kate Winslet, Denzel Washington and director Martin Campbell will all be honoured at BAFTA/LA's 16th Britannia Awards in Los Angeles on 1 November (07).


3rd July 2007

Fact: This is gonna be like The Sopranos for black people." Rapper T.I. on his new movie AMERICAN GANGSTER, which also stars Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe.


12th March 2007

Quote: "My new favourite movie... is Man on Fire with Denzel Washington... I love that movie, I stop anytime it's on. Denzel putting a bomb in a guy's ass - you can't beat it." Funnyman Chris Rock on his favourite film.


7th February 2007

Quote: "I am not a very advanced knitter. The only things I can make are scarves. I made scarves for all my leading men, for Tom and Bob and Denzel. I am pretty good at them now." Tom Cruise, Robert De Niro and Denzel Washington are proud owners of exclusive Dakota Fanning knitwear.


31st October 2006

Quote: "Maybe we'll do some duets and ruin her career." Denzel Washington is looking forward to his friend Whitney Houston's musical comeback.


31st October 2006

Fact: Denzel Washington has penned a new book about celebrities and their mentors. It's called A HAND TO GUIDE ME.


2nd August 2006

Fact: Georgia-based rapper TI will play Denzel Washington's nephew in hard-hitting new drugs drama AMERICAN GANGSTER. The controversial movie, which also stars Russell Crowe, revolves around the true story of a 1970s drug lord who smuggled heroin into the US by concealing it inside the coffins of American soldiers returning from Vietnam.


24th May 2006

Fact: A host of stars including Denzel Washington, Alicia Keys, Matthew Mcconaughey, Elijah Wood and John Travolta have donated items to an online charity auction aiming to pay the medical bills of Terry Birch - a hearing-impared Utah caretaker - and his deaf wife, who is suffering from breast cancer.


29th March 2006

Fact: Rapper The Game has adopted the nickname LARENZEL WASHINGTATE for his movie projects as a tribute to his acting coach, Larenz Tate, and his favourite actor Denzel Washington.


27th March 2006

Fact: As a child, Denzel Washington once won a talent contest as the Paul McCartney of an all-black Beatles tribute band.


11th March 2006

Quote: "I loved GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK. That should have won the (Best Film) Oscars. I called George Clooney and asked him how he did certain shots. I was really impressed with his work." High praise for George Clooney from Denzel Washington.


17th January 2006

Fact: <p>Denzel Washington is returning to New Orleans, Louisiana, to complete work on his new movie DEJA VU next month (FEB06). Production on the film was stalled last year (05) when Hurricane Katrina devastated the city. </p>


30th November 2005

Fact: <p>THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST star Jim Caviezel is set to turn his back on his role as Jesus Christ and play a terrorist who blows up a ferry in DEJA VU. The film stars Denzel Washington as an FBI agent who goes back in time to avenge his wife's killer. </p>


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