Denzel Washington is a highly acclaimed American actor, director, and producer, born on December 28, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York. He first gained recognition for his role in the medical drama “St. Elsewhere” (1982-1988) and later became one of the most prominent actors in Hollywood.
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Washington has received numerous awards and accolades throughout his career, including two Academy Awards for Best Actor for his roles in “Training Day” (2001) and “Glory” (1989). He has also been nominated for several other Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and Emmy Awards.
In addition to his acting career, Washington has directed several films, including “Antwone Fisher” (2002) and “The Great Debaters” (2007). He has also been involved in various humanitarian and charitable causes, including the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
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Inspired and motivated quotes of Denzel Washington, a true icon of perseverance and hard work. These powerful quotes will ignite your determination and drive, pushing you to reach new heights.
Famous Denzel Washington Quotes
1. “Dreams without goals, are just dreams and they ultimately fuel disappointment.”
2. “Put God first in everything you do.”
3. “Don’t aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference.”
4. “Nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.”
5. “Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.”
6. “Don’t be afraid to fail big, to dream big.”
7. “I walk by faith, not by sight.”
8. “You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That’s a part of it.”
9. “Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do.”
10. “Thank God in advance for what’s already yours.”
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11. “You can’t break me because you didn’t make me.”
12. “I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you’re prepared for it.”
13. “I found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks.”
14. “To protect the sheep, you gotta catch the wolf. And it takes a wolf to catch a wolf, you understand?”
15. “Talent comes from God. If you have been given some, then value it, cultivate it, work and develop it.”
16. “Just because you are doing a lot more doesn’t mean you are getting a lot done. Don’t confuse movement with progress!”
17. “I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith.”
18. “For me, success is inner peace. That’s a good day for me.”
19. “If you want to be a warrior, you have to train.”
20. “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.”
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21. “The Bible says “faith without works is nothing” so destiny is great, fate is great, faith is great – but you still have to work at it. I don’t just sit at home and wait for it all to unfold.”
22. “I’d be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I’d been given. I’d be more frightened by procrastination and laziness.”
23. “It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove.”
24. “We do what we have to so we can do what we want to.”
25. “One failed experiment is one step closer to Success.”
26. “Be careful what you ask for because when you pray for rain, you have to deal with the mud as well.”
27. “Cursed be the ground for our sake. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for us. For out of the ground we were taken, for the dust we are and to the dust we shall return.”
28. “We live in a time when people give up too easy.”
29. “Revenge is a meal best served cold.”
30. “There are two kinds of pain in this world. The pain that hurts, the pain that alters.”
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31. “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.”
32. “I believe in God. I don’t fear man, I fear God.”
33. “The time to worrying about flying is when you’re on the ground. When you’re up in the air, it’s too late. No point in worrying about it then.”
34. “Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons.”
35. “Got to be who you are in this world, no matter what.”
36. “Success? I don’t know what that word means. I’m happy. But success, that goes back to what in somebody’s eyes success means. For me, success is inner peace. That’s a good day for me.”
37. “Why do we close our eyes when we pray, cry, kiss, or dream? Because the most beautiful things in life are not seen but felt by the heart.”
38. “If you don’t trust the pilot, don’t go.”
39. “There’s a book called “The Sociopath Next Door.” I thought most sociopaths were violent. In fact, they aren’t. But almost all sociopaths want to win, no matter what.”
40. “Writing is a weapon and it’s more powerful than a fist could ever be.”
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41. “My mother used to tell me man gives the award, God gives the reward. I don’t need another plaque.”
42. “In Los Angeles, everyone is a star.”
43. “Bad guys need love too.”
44. “It is very important to transcend the places that hold us.”
45. “I’m a logic monster, if things don’t make sense I gotta make sense of them.”
46. “The poorest people are the sweetest people.”
47. “Hate put me in prison. Love’s gonna bust me out.”
48. “My faith helps me understand that circumstances don’t dictate my happiness, my inner peace.”
49. “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.”
50. “What it taught me was forgiveness. It taught me that when people present themselves in a certain way, there’s probably some back story or issue or reason for the way that they are. It’s not you. It’s them. And a lot of times, its about something that’s completely out of their control.”
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51. “There’s racism everywhere.”
52. “The secret to a happy marriage? Do whatever your wife tells you. ‘Yes, dear.’ And breathe.”
53. “I think a role model is a mentor – someone you see on a daily basis, and you learn from them.”
54. “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.”
55. “Money doesn’t buy happiness. Some people say it’s a heck of a down payment, though.”
56. “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.”
57. “A wise woman knows the importance of speaking life into her man. If you love him; believe in him, encourage him and be his peace.”
58. “The greatest lesson I’ve learned in life is “Who knows what’s good or bad?” Things come along that you really want, and they turn out to be the worst thing in the world. And some of the worst tragedies that you can conceive turn out to be the best things, the exact medicine you need in that moment.”
59. “I am not going to bury my son! My son is going to bury me!”
60. “Man gives you the award but God gives you the reward.”
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61. “A sociopath will do anything to win. Anything.”
62. “I never really had the classic struggle. I had faith.”
63. “I’m not afraid to upset people. But I am not as upset because I understand what I’m up against.”
64. “We’ve 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.”
65. “I read the Bible every day.”
66. “In my humble opinion, in the nuclear world, the true enemy is war itself.”
67. “Acting is just a way of making a living, the family is life.”
68. “The lessons I learned in Sunday School have kept me on track.”
69. “I’ve always felt protected. That’s the God’s honest truth.”
70. “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.”
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71. “I just try to be honest and true to the character and play the part.”
72. “I work hard for the audience. It’s entertainment. I don’t need validation.”
73. “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.”
74. “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.”
75. “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.”
76. “Don’t tell me what they said about me. Tell me why they were so comfortable to say it to you.”
77. “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.”
78. “Hate, hatred for yourself, for other people, will confine you, but love can set you free.”
79. “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.”
80. “Don’t get all sentimental on me, Makes me think I’m gonna die.”
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81. “You have to grab moments when they happen. I like to improvise and ad lib.”
82. “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.”
83. “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.”
84. “I’ve been fortunate. I don’t pick scripts. Scripts pick me.”
85. “I think that if there can be considered racism it’s to do with the lack of opportunities for writers and producers and the people behind the camera.”
86. “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.”
87. “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.”
88. “When I was a child I thought I saw an angel. It had wings and kinda looked like my sister. I opened the door so some light could come into the room, and it sort of faded away. My mother said it was probably my Guardian Angel.”
89. “When I did A Soldier’s Story, I was very young and green and thought I knew everything-now I know I know everything!”
90. “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.”
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91. “I’m not a film buff. I don’t watch a lot of movies.”
92. “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.”
93. “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.”
94. “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.”
95. “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.”
96. “People have said to me for a long time, “Man you’re funny.” I say, “Well, I’m quick,” but being funny on purpose, take after take – that’s why I said for me it was new territory, and so by improvising something might come out that might be good. And it’s film, so they can cut it if it isn’t.”
97. “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.”
98. “We’ll all retire from life at some point. The great thing about acting is you don’t necessarily have to retire.”
99. “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.”
100. “I’m from around Tennessee. I ran away when I was 12 years old and I ain’t never looked back.”