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Trivia
Birth name: Denzel Washington Jr. Date of birth: 28 December 1954 Place of birth: Mount Vernon, New York, USA Nickname: D Height: 6' 0½" (1.84 m) Spouse: Pauletta Washington (25 June 1983 - present) 4 children
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100
Sexiest Stars in film history (#77). [1995]
Children: John David (b. 1985), Katia (b.
1988), and twins Malcolm and Olivia (b. 1991)
Son, Malcolm, was named in honor of Malcolm
X
To prepare for his role as boxer Rubin
Carter in The Hurricane (1999), Washington worked out for a year with
L.A. boxing trainer Terry Claybon.
Attended Fordham University, receiving a
B.A. in Journalism.
1996 Harvard Foundation Award
In a Newsweek cover story about the
biological basis of the perception of beauty, he was used as a key
example in a scientific explanation why he is considered an extremely
handsome man.
Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50
Most Beautiful People in the world [1990]
According to a 1995 Premiere magazine
article, Denzel confronted director Quentin Tarantino when he visted the
set of Crimson Tide (1995). Quentin had done an uncredited rewrite of
the script. Denzel lambasted Tarantino about his use of racial slurs in
his films. Tarantino got embarrassed and wanted to move the conversation
to a more private area. Denzel said, "No, if were going to discuss
it, let's discuss it now." Denzel later said he still felt that
Quentin was "a fine artist".
Denzel is named after his father who was in
turn named after the doctor, Doctor Denzel, who had delivered him.
In the early 1980s, years before he
portrayed Malcolm X (1992) in the Spike Lee film, Denzel Washington
portrayed Malcolm X in the off-Broadway production of "When the
Chickens Came Home to Roost", at the Henry Street Theatre in NYC.
Frequent collaborator of Spike Lee (3 films
together).
Named one of E!'s "top 20 entertainers
of 2001."
Supports charities such as the Nelson
Mandela Children's Fund, and the Gathering Place (an AIDS hospice).
Met his wife Pauletta in 1977 when both had
small roles in the TV-movie Wilma (1977) (TV) , the story of runner
Wilma Rudolph. They wed five years later.
His father was a Pentecostal minister; his
mother a beautician and former gospel singer. They divorced when he was
14.
Is a spokesperson for the Boys and Girls
Clubs of America, having been a member of the Boys Club once himself.
Only the second actor of color (after Sidney
Poitier) to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (for
Training Day (2001))
Was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful
People by People Magazine in 2002.
Father of actor John David Washington
Ranked #28 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power
100 List. Had ranked #40 in 2002.
Often works with director Edward Zwick.
Cousin is CBS anchorman Ukee Washington.
He and his family are members of the same
church as actors Dwayne Winstead, Sy Richardson, Marvin Wright-Bey, and
Fitz Houston.
Was awarded the title of "Police Chief
for a Day" when he was a member of The Boys and Girls Club of
America as a child. The photo was shown during his latest appearance on
Regis and Kelly (Apr. 2004).
Tom
Hanks said working with Washington on Philadelphia (1993) was like
"going to film school". Hanks said he learned more about
acting by watching Denzel than from anyone else.
When he was very young he was at a barber's
shop with his mother and a nice old lady sitting in the corner asked his
mother to write his full name down. When his mother asked why she said
"Because he's going to entertain millions one day". His mother
gave the old lady his name and it wasn't until later that they found out
she was rumored to be some kind of local fortune teller.
Cites star-athletes like Jim Brown and Gale
Sayers as the role models of his youth.
First studied Biology in hopes of becoming a
doctor, then switched to Political Science then to a Journalism/Drama
major in college.
Has worn some kind of military uniform in at
least six of his films.
Ranked #59 on VH1's 100 Hottest Hotties
Because of his pay-or-play deal on the
doomed 2005 "American Gangster" project (which was to be
directed by Antoine Fuqua), he was paid $20 million even though the film
did not move ahead.
He was voted the 39th Greatest Movie Star of
all time by Premiere Magazine.
Chosen as People Magazine's Sexiest Man
Alive [1996]
First African-American actor to receive two
Academy Awards
Has played two soldiers that have suffered
traumatic, life changing experiences while fighting in the 1991 Persian
Gulf War; Lt.Col. Nathaniel Serling in "Courage Under Fire"
and Major Ben Marco "The Manchurian Candidate".
Though his first theatrical film was a
comedy (Carbon Copy in 1981), he has only done three more since. Has
mentioned that he's always wanted to do a great one.
He and his family visited the troops at
Brook Army Medical Center, in San Antonio,Texas (BAMC). There are some
buildings there called Fisher Houses. The Fisher House is a Hotel where
soldiers' families can stay, for little or no charge, while their
soldier is staying in the Hospital. BAMC has quite a few of these houses
on base, but as you can imagine, they are almost filled most of the
time. He was given a tour of one of the Fisher Houses and asked how much
one of them would cost to build. He took his check book out and wrote a
check for the full amount right there on the spot. |
