Denzel Washington: Fascinating Facts About A Hollywood Great

He’s the hero we admire, and he’s the villain that we condone. His roles have brought tears to our eyes, and they’ve filled our hearts with hope. He is Hollywood personified, but is Denzel Washington everything we thought he was? When figures emerge to speak from the shadows, perhaps we should start listening.

Childhood

Denzel Washington was born on December 28th, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. His mother worked at a beauty parlor while his father, Denzel Hayes Washington, Sr. was a preacher. Along with his older sister and younger brother, his childhood would seem like any other child’s.

Denzel, Denzel, Denzel

He got his name from his dad, who was actually named after the doctor who delivered him as a baby. There is a difference in the pronunciation of their names though. Denzel Senior is pronounced DEN-zel, whereas Junior’s is pronounced with an emphasis on the end, den-ZEL.

Ginger Ale

Growing up, Denzel Washington didn’t actually like his name. We can’t understand why he wouldn’t want such a unique and kickass name, but for him as a child, it wasn’t so cool. When he met Jimmy Kimmel he explained what happened, “When I was a little kid in school I didn’t want to be Denzel. You’re sitting in there and they call everybody’s name, Mikey? Here. Joey? Here. Billy? Here. Ben… Zen…Zendel?” Once he was even called “Ginger Ale”!

Military School

When he was 14 years old, his parents got divorced and they sent him and his sister to boarding school. Denzel went to the Oakland Military Academy which was an all-boys school established in the 1930’s but which is closed now.

Prison Friends

To this day, Denzel Washington praises his mother’s decision to send him to military school. “That decision changed my life, because I wouldn’t have survived in the direction I was going. The guys I was hanging out with at the time, my running buddies, have now done maybe 40 years combined in the penitentiary. They were nice guys, but the streets got them.”

The Next Degree

When Denzel Washington went to college, he earned himself a Bachelor of Arts in Drama and Journalism. He took off a full semester to decide what to major in. Even the best have second thoughts.

A Prophet’s Message

When one of the members of Washington’s community prophesied that Denzel would become famous and speak to millions, he took the prophecy to heart. He even took the note on which the prophecy was written and carried it with him everywhere he went.

Bible Bookworm

Denzel Washington is a devout Christian and he reads from the Bible every day. He leads his life through the teachings of Christianity and even has considered becoming a preacher himself. “Man gives you the award but God gives you the reward,” he believes.

A Man’s Man

Even while working with the best, like Quentin Tarantino, Denzel has felt comfortable to say what’s on his mind. In the early 90’s while working together on a film, Denzel didn’t like the racial slurs that were changed in the script. After he confronted Tarantino about it, the two clashed. It took some time, but they patched up the holes in their relationship and now they’re on good terms.

Tom Hanks And Denzel Washington

When Tom Hanks teamed up with Denzel Washington on the set of Philadelphia, Hanks explained that it was like going to film school. From all the people on set, he said that he felt that he learned the most about acting from Denzel.

The Negotiator

It isn’t unreal for regular people to associate a celebrity’s on-screen character with his real-life personality. Denzel Washington was named as one of 3 people that the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia were willing to negotiate with in order to release 3 defense contractors the group had held captive from 2003 to 2008.

Winning

Denzel Washington has won 2 Oscars during his acting career, once for Glory in 1989 and then again in 2012 for Flight. He has been nominated 6 separate times for this prestigious award. He has also won 3 Golden Globe awards and has been nominated for 7 others.

Charity Man

When you’re earning so much money from the movies scene, it must be difficult to decide what to do with your money. But that could not be less true for Denzel Washington. The Training Day star donated a massive $2.5 million to the West Angeles Church of God in Christ in LA when they were rebuilding their new church.

Wife And Kids

Denzel Washington married his wife, Pauletta Pearsonin 1983 and they had both a son and a daughter before they had twins in 1991. They are still married and even renewed their vows in 1995 with Apartheid-era Archbishop Desmond Tutu from South Africa as their officiator.

Lost In Translation

During the shooting of Denzel’s movie, Out of Time, a curious bunch saw him kissing co-star, Sanaa Latham. From there rumors spread that he was cheating on his wife. He completely denied the allegations and his co-star came to the rescue to assure that whatever was seen was from the movie and explained that “the rumor got started because the movie had a love scene with Denzel, and people took that and translated it to real life.”