Denzel Quotes

I've worked with children all my life. ~ 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

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

We've all had some level of injustice, whether 20 years in prison, or 20 minutes sitting in your car waiting for a police officer to determine your future. Or even a few moments in an elevator with some woman clutching her purse thinking you're going to rob her ¾ regardless of celebrity, that has happened to me. ~ Denzel Washington

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

When people say "What do you want people to get from this movie?" I say, "Well, it depends on what they bring to it." I don't try to decide what people should get from it or why. I don't do a part for those kinds of reasons. ~ Denzel Washington

He did everything. He studied hard. He went to Harvard. He got married. He had children. He worked. He dreamed big. He pulled his bootstraps all the way up from his humble beginnings to the presidency. He lived the American Dream. And he was called an African Witch Doctor. People asked for his birth certificate. A congressman shouted at him "YOU LIE!" He faced the most recalcitrant Republican Congress ever that was elected by a constituency that wanted to "take the country back."If a black man can be elected as guardian of the American empire, do exactly that, and still not be shielded from racism, what hope is supposed to be left? ~ Mychal Denzel Smith

To my Newly Forming Black Radical mind, women -- more specifically black women -- had a way of existing without being present. It's a natural result of consuming history and culture through the fables of masculine triumph. ~ Mychal Denzel Smith

Somedays I think I'm a rebel in my own mind but most of the times I'm a low-key, follow the rules type of guy. ~ Denzel Whitaker

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

Denzel Washington is a big Hollywood movie star now. But he started out as an actor in the Negro Ensemble company. ~ Pearl Cleage

To protect the sheep, you gotta catch the wolf. And it takes a wolf to catch a wolf, you understand? ~ Denzel Washington

As a practice exercise, I'd usually just wear blindfolds around the house to allow my other senses to take me wherever I would like to go. ~ Denzel Whitaker

Revenge is a meal best served cold. ~ Denzel Washington

I'm selfish, I think. I think an artist has to be. I'm not worried about what people think. I play the parts that I find interesting. It'd bother me more to be just pigeonholed into doing what people think is ethical or that's boring to me. I don't pick parts with that in mind, I just find interesting stories. If it's interesting to me, then I do it. ~ Denzel Washington

It'd be very difficult to cast me as a ballet dancer. Everybody is, in some sense, controlled by their size and their gender. I'm not going to be allowed to play the part that Denzel Washington plays. ~ Brian Dennehy

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

A man once told me that you step out of your door in the morning, and you are already in trouble. The only question is are you on top of that trouble or not? ~ 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

I'm not in the loop; I don't know any actors, really, just the ones I work with. ~ Denzel Washington

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

The poorest people are the sweetest people. ~ 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

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

Meeting Oprah Winfrey, I cried like a baby. Meeting Steven Spielberg, I cried like a baby. Meeting Denzel Washington, I gushed like a crazy woman. If I don't get excited or star struck by someone I've been dying to meet, it's time to retire. ~ Octavia Spencer

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

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

There's nothing good or bad, except by comparison" (210) - Bud Selig "Effort is Everything ~ Denzel Washington

The nigger is America's greatest asset and its biggest fear ~ Mychal Denzel Smith

I'm not a big fan of the post-Armageddon stories, where Denzel Washington is walking around in a torn coat. ~ Albert Brooks

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

My ultimate life dream project is my kids. My family. ~ Denzel Washington

As an actor, you're a color of paint on someone else's palette. But as a director, it's your canvas and you make the painting you want to make. ~ Denzel Washington

Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do. ~ Denzel Washington

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

I love expression and really connecting with people. As actors, we like to tell stories because they can influence or even change people's lives. It's so cerebral, you never know who you can affect out there. ~ Denzel Whitaker

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. ~ Denzel Washington

Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency. ~ Denzel Washington

My faith helps me understand that circumstances don't dictate my happiness, my inner peace. ~ Denzel Washington

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

Watch me when people say deaf and dumb, or deaf mute, and I give them a look like you might get if you called Denzel Washington the wrong name. ~ Marlee Matlin

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

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

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

Every day, sincerely and without phoniness, Lou demonstrated by his actions how very vital it is - more than anything else - to understand and appreciate the people who work with you ... Do your job well, but always remember that the people you work with are your most valuable asset. Embrace them. Honor them. Respect them" (206) - "Prescriptions for Success" by John Schuerholz ~ Denzel Washington

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

The violence you witness is Denzel doing it and we're taking some visual effects and doing some things and you see something happen it's happening in front of you as opposed to cutting away and doing a bunch of tricks. It's in front of you. So it's hard not to make it a hard "R" if you see a guy get punched and teeth wind up in someone's knuckles. ~ Antoine Fuqua

Just stick with your kids. There's no set of rules on how to be a parent. No handbook. Just hang around your kids and ask them a lot of questions. You have to stay involved in your children's lives and monitor everything they're doing whether they like it or not. You're not in the job of making them like it. You're there to protect them in a world that can be troubling. ~ Denzel Washington

We're very good friends, we have a very honest relationship. He keeps me honest, I keep him honest. He's an incredible actor and when you have an actor like Denzel action becomes drama. ~ Antoine Fuqua

You'll never see a U-Haul behind a hearse ... Now, I've been blessed to make hundreds of millions of dollars in my life. I can't take it with me, and neither can you. It's not how much you have but what you do with what you have, ~ Denzel Washington

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

Hate put me in prison. Love's gonna bust me out. ~ 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

An ideal movie would be, like - to get this to happen, I have to work so much harder - but imagine Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy ... Who else? Donald Faison. Directed by Steven Spielberg. That would be awesome. ~ Donald Faison

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

Don't aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference. ~ Denzel Washington

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. ~ 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

I always say the time to worry about flying is when you're on the ground. If you don't trust the captain, don't go. ~ Denzel Washington

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

I like "Training Day" very much. Denzel Washington's performance was spectacular. I also like "The Godfather"and "Kill Bill." I love Tarantino's mind and I believe that "Kill Bill" describes very well his mind and thoughts. ~ Alfonso Herrera

Anyway, I'm doing my rave and this spittle comes out of my mouth and it winds its way very delicately through the wire fence that separates us and lands clear and bright on Denzel's lip. And we're at the beginning of the scene and I've got to do the rest of the scene, and the camera isn't on him, it's on me - and I'm fully aware that I've just spat on Denzel Washington! ~ Russell Crowe

Hate, hatred for yourself, for other people, will confine you, but love can set you free. ~ Denzel Washington

I want to meet Denzel Washington when I go to the Oscars. Every man wants to see Halle Berry in person. And, you know, Dolly Parton ... I wouldn't mind seeing Dolly Parton. She's from Tennessee, I'm from Tennessee. ~ Juicy J

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

My dream role would be to act with Denzel again! ~ Nadine Velazquez

I got on my knees and sort of communicated with the spirits. When I came out, I was in charge. I couldn't have acted that, I couldn't have written that. ~ 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

If you don't love your fellow man, women, person, then you don't have anything. If you don't treat your neighbor as you would want to be treated that to me is the fundamental message. ~ Denzel Washington

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. ~ Denzel Washington

That's the beauty of life, the uncertainty that we experience, literally, as we go about our day-to-day activities. We're not certain of anything, so fear comes up very often. Fear comes naturally. ~ Denzel Whitaker

Put God first in everything you do. ~ Denzel Washington

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

In marriage, if you're a guy, learn two phrases. One is "yes, dear" and the other is "honey, you're right." Be patient. Be good friends first. And stick together. You gotta work at it. It's not all a honeymoon, it's not all flowers and roses, but if you're friends and partners and committed, you'll be okay. And everybody's got advice for you - don't listen. ~ Denzel Washington

I want to aspire to something like what Denzel Washington does, which is try to find scripts written for white actors - or Jodie Foster, who reads scripts for male actors. ~ Wentworth Miller

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've always been pretty patient so I usually don't mind waiting! ~ Denzel Whitaker

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

Acting, it's not my life, my children and my family, that's life. I'll get up every morning, God willing, for that. ~ Denzel Washington

A lot of people ... kind of make heroes that are separate from us, people who are, you know, like ... John Wayne and Errol Flynn and, you know, Denzel Washington ... people who are different, who are larger than life. ~ Walter Mosley

I'm usually the guy who says, 'Bruce Willis and Denzel Washington in the Siege'! ~ Jim Cummings

And as the rest of the world watches, we still try to learn how to see ourselves. ~ Mychal Denzel Smith

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

I read the Bible every day. ~ Denzel Washington

Cats are too independent. They piss me off. They play when they want, and then they turn their back on you. Dogs, you throw the ball, and they bring it back, tongue hanging out, tail wagging. Cats are like "Not right now, too busy." Definitely a dog man. Except when it comes to cleaning up after them! Cats win that! ~ 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

If you want to be a warrior, you have to train. ~ Denzel Washington

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

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. ~ Denzel Washington

For whatever reason, God has blessed me with the ability, put me in a position to make these leaps and bounds. I'm fulfilling my part of the bargain, which is to give back and be a positive influence on others. ~ Denzel Washington

I was very disappointed that Denzel didn't win Best Actor for The Hurricane because I thought he deserved it. ~ Norman Jewison

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. ~ 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

There's all kinds of depictions of black men. You have the Denzel Washingtons and the Will Smiths; that's wonderful, but that doesn't represent everyone. There's a Russell Crowe ... well, you know, there's a black Russell Crowe. ~ Michael Jai White

I listen to a lot of different music. I love hip-hop. I'm a big underground rap fan. I listen to the likes of J. Cole. Lately, I've also been getting into techno house music. And I've been on an Eighties retro kick, and I've even been experimenting with some rock. ~ Denzel Whitaker

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

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. ~ 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

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

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