Denzel Washington Quotes & Sayings

I read a ton of scripts. I read a lot of scripts, and you read one, and first of all, you felt like you read it in 14 minutes, because you're turning the pages so fast you can't wait to see what's going to happen. — Denzel Washington

The lessons I learned in Sunday School have kept me on track — Denzel Washington

Acting is just a way of making a living, the family is life. — Denzel Washington

Put God first in everything you do. — Denzel Washington

I'm a logic monster, if things don't make sense I gotta make sense of them. — Denzel Washington

Raising the standard of the work, not complaining about somebody not voting. — Denzel Washington

There's things that I can do as an actor that I couldn't do in any other form of life and I've got a strange personality. But film requires strange people, so I've got a nice comfy home. — Denzel Washington

I think we're fascinated by gangsters and that whole lifestyle and crossing the line. We get sort of stuck in our normal lives, if you will, and you want to be bigger than life and I think people somehow live through these sorts of characters. — Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington: I like the collaboration, I like seeing people do well, so I really plan to direct the rest of my days. — Denzel Washington

My mother used to tell me man gives the award, God gives the reward. I don't need another plaque. — Denzel Washington

You don't pick black actors or black directors because they are black. You pick them because they are good. If you lend somebody 50 million dollars you want you're money back. You don't care if they are oppressed. You just want you're money back. — Denzel Washington

When you don't understand something, you label it and condemn it" (94) - Danny Glover, "The Fundamental Things — Denzel Washington

When my oldest boy was about 14, I started to talk to him about some of the mistakes I made in life, just to put a few dents in that shiny armor. — Denzel Washington

When we shot "Cry Freedom," I wasn't even allowed in South Africa. They told me I could come but I wasn't going to leave. I had heavy death threats at that time. So we shot in Zimbabwe.In 1995, I had the privilege and the honor to meet Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela the same day: I had breakfast with Desmond Tutu and lunch with Nelson Mandela. Then I had the good fortune to have Mr. Mandela actually come to my house in California.here's been a tremendous amount of change. — Denzel Washington

In any profession it gets to be a grind. — Denzel Washington

A sociopath will do anything to win. Anything. — Denzel Washington

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! — Denzel Washington

Luck is when opportunity meets preparation. — Denzel Washington

I've been fortunate. I don't pick scripts. Scripts pick me. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

Any good piece of material like Shakespeare ought to be open to reinterpretation. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

You will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse, — Denzel Washington

Money doesn't buy happiness. Some people say it's a heck of a down payment, though. — Denzel Washington

If you don't fail, you're not even trying. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

I believe in God. I don't fear man, I fear God. — Denzel Washington

What are you doing extra? That's what counts. That's when you're working hard - when you're going above and over what's expected of you" (102). - Tony Gonzalez, "The Giant Within — Denzel Washington

If you have an enemy, then learn and know your enemy, don't just be mad at him or her — Denzel Washington

When you make a movie it's always interesting, because you end up in places you never would as a normal visitor or tourist. — Denzel Washington

I try not to think about that [getting Oscar] ahead of time. You just try to do the best work you can, and then you get the movie out there, and we've been hearing good things. But you never know, you don't want to get too high, and you don't want to get too low. — Denzel Washington

In my humble opinion, in the nuclear world, the true enemy is war itself. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

The only reason I'm acting in films I direct is to get the money to make them, quite frankly, it's not what I'm interested in doing. — Denzel Washington

So you never know who you are going to touch. You never know how or when you'll have an impact, or how important your example can be to someone else" (20) - Denzel Washington, "So that We Might Follow — Denzel Washington

We do what we have to so we can do what we want to. — Denzel Washington

The poorest people are the sweetest people. — Denzel Washington

Don't get all sentimental on me, Makes me think I'm gonna die. — Denzel Washington

I like talking. I like acting. — Denzel Washington

Do what you got to do now, so you can do what you want to do later — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

Man gives you the award but God gives you the reward. — Denzel Washington

I'm from around Tennessee. I ran away when I was 12 years old and I ain't never looked back. — Denzel Washington

I don't concern myself with award. I'd been to the party enough times to know it really didn't matter. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

I honestly believe, and I've said it many times, that the universal stems from the specific and I can't walk around with a performance and ask everyone how they feel about it, but if noble is an opinion that people have I'll accept that. I've been asked many times why I don't play bad guys, or heavies, and I would do it, absolutely, in a second, just haven't been offered any so ... if anybody has a script out there tonight I'm more than willing. — Denzel Washington

If you don't trust the pilot, don't go. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

Be careful what you ask for because when you pray for rain, you have to deal with the mud as well. — Denzel Washington

Dreams without goals, are just dreams and they ultimately fuel disappointment. — Denzel Washington

Taking the money from drug operations and all that sort of stuff is something that goes past what most of us in society would expect a policeman should do. That temptation hits the police force at the same time as the temptation to take those drugs that are readily available hits the people on the streets. — Denzel Washington

You have to grab moments when they happen. I like to improvise and ad lib. — Denzel Washington

Revenge is a meal best served cold. — Denzel Washington

The strongest, toughest men all have compassion. They're not heartless and cold. You have to be man enough to have compassion - to care about people and about your children" (217) - John Singleton "Oh Man, I've Become My Father — Denzel Washington

I'm a parent. I think we're responsible for the problems that young people have. I believe that. I don't blame them for any of it. I blame us for what we haven't done as mothers and fathers, not sticking together as a unit. — Denzel Washington

I love research and being educated. It's a great job being able to step into all kinds of professions and into other people's shoes. — Denzel Washington

For me, success is inner peace. That's a good day for me. — Denzel Washington

I'm a positive person, so I don't get bogged down with it. If you're expecting that, if you wall in that, if you practice that, then you'll attract what you fear. — Denzel Washington

Talent comes from God. If you have been given some, then value it, cultivate it, work and develop it. — Denzel Washington

Americans love to talk about the Constitution and how it protects the rights of every citizen and promises freedom to every citizen, but it's also a country based on racism and they don't talk about that too much and every time there's a film which deals with it there's certain parts of the country that feel uncomfortable. — Denzel Washington

I've always felt protected. That's the God's honest truth. — Denzel Washington

There are films that I don't like, and then someone will come up to me and say it's their favorite movie. The movies belong to the people. You make them and you put them out. For me, I love the process of making films. For me, my favorite film is always my next one. — Denzel Washington

I never really had the classic struggle. I had faith. — Denzel Washington

It is very important to transcend the places that hold us. — Denzel Washington

The chances you take, the people you meet, the people you love, the faith that you have. That's what's going to define you. — Denzel Washington

I think a role model is a mentor - someone you see on a daily basis, and you learn from them. — Denzel Washington

You have to do what you gotta do in this life in order to do what you wanna do ... — Denzel Washington

There's always got to be room for what you might call benign corruption. Nobody blames a man who steals food to feed his starving children, but on the other hand, somebody who picks up a badge and takes an oath to serve and protect; we do expect a certain level of essential honesty. — Denzel Washington

It's simple: You get a part. You play a part. You play it well. You do your work and you go home. And what is wonderful about movies is that once they're done, they belong to the people. Once you make it, it's what they see. That's where my head is at. — Denzel Washington

Do what you gotta do so you can do what you wanna do. — Denzel Washington

When I did A Soldier's Story, I was very young and green and thought I knew everything-now I know I know everything! — Denzel Washington

Fundamentally, the most important thing is to get the film made for me and to get as many people to see it as possible. And if I help that, then - I know I help that, let's put it that way. I do know that I help that. It is called show business. — Denzel Washington

Acting is like music and you improvise. It's like jazz, there's no rhyme or reason to it. It's not a plan. You practice to music and you just play it. — Denzel Washington

We have all received our share of good fortune, so that's my definition of much. A single blessing is all the bounty in the world, and if you've been blessed at all you're meant to pass some of that on. You're meant to set a positive example. That's our responsibility (20). — Denzel Washington

I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

I found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. — Denzel Washington

Meryl and Katharine Hepburn are probably the two greatest actresses of this and the last century. — Denzel Washington

A part of me still says, 'Maybe, Denzel, you're supposed to preach. Maybe you're still compromising.' I've had an opportunity to play great men and, through their words, to preach. I take what talent I've been given seriously, and I want to use it for good. — Denzel Washington

In Los Angeles, everyone is a star. — Denzel Washington

I'm not a big Hollywood star. I'm an actor. I'm called a star. That's not what I am. First of all I'm a human being; my profession is acting. People give you titles. They say you're an up and coming star, then they say you're a star, then they say you're a washed-up star. So I don't get caught up in what I'm called. My job, my profession, is acting. — Denzel Washington

Every punch that's thrown is mine. Every punch that's caught, I catch ... — Denzel Washington

Don't be afraid to fail big, to dream big. — Denzel Washington

I get nervous when a picture goes beyond two hours. — Denzel Washington

I always think it's not what we know that's terrifying; it's what we don't know. That's sort of pervasive with everything in life. — Denzel Washington

I've always seen it to be a privilege to make movies. It's a really expensive, creative medium. — Denzel Washington

I am not going to bury my son! My son is going to bury me! — Denzel Washington

I've worked with children all my life. — Denzel Washington

He taught us that everyone has a good story and the more of others you understand, the better your grasp of human nature, a gift given great weight in my family" (73). - Bill Clinton, "Paying Attention — Denzel Washington

Thank God in advance for what's already yours. — Denzel Washington

I'm not afraid to upset people. But I am not as upset because I understand what I'm up against. — Denzel Washington

So you never know who you touch. You never know how or when you'll have an impact, or how important your example can be to someone else (20). — Denzel Washington

Growing up I didn't watch movies. — Denzel Washington

We'll all retire from life at some point. The great thing about acting is you don't necessarily have to retire. — Denzel Washington

My father was a minister for 50 years (with) Pentecostal Church of God in Christ. We prayed about everything, every day, then he always said, "Amen. God is love." I thought God is love was one word. Like "Godislove." And it took me a long time to learn what that really meant. — Denzel Washington

Years ago, even prior to 9/11, I did a movie called "The Siege." I did a lot of research with the FBI and the CIA. And I was amazed at that time (I guess we might all know it now) how little information they shared with each other. So after that, I'm not surprised by anything. — Denzel Washington

When you trust the director you want to trust his or her choices. I don't want to say, 'No, I don't like this girl or that guy, when the director really loves them. No, you want to go with what the director likes. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

Religion to me is when man gets ahold of spirituality: "My god is right, yours is wrong." Religion to me is the human condition. "If you're a Muslim, you can't be a Christian." That to me is religion. — Denzel Washington

At the end of the day, it's not about what you have or even what you've accomplished. It's about what you've done with those accomplishments. Its about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It about what you've given back (23). — Denzel Washington