Sources/Credit

Denzel’s Charity Work

http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/53-denzel-washington
Link Description: This site shows the good things that Denzel Washington has done with his money and time to make an effort to help the community. He was a philanthropist, and this affects his career and personal life.


Biography of Denzel Washington

http://www.biography.com/articles/Denzel-Washington-9524687
Link Description: This site gives a biography of the life that Denzel Washington lived and how this impacted his career in movies as an actor, writer, and director.


IMDB.com link for Denzel Washington

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000243/
Link Description: This site lists all of the movies Denzel Washington has been in and all of the roles that he taken in this movies. This can show the progression of different types of movies he was in over his career.

Denzel Washington's Role in Malcolm X
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1077/is_n2_v48/ai_12972317/pg_6/?tag=content;col1
Link Description: This article discusses the role Denzel Washington took as Malcolm X and the preparation he did for the role. It also discusses what this role meant for the African American race as a whole.

Collection of Photos of Denzel Washington
http://www.people.com/people/denzel_washington
Link Description: This site is used to get all of the images you see on the blog.

Movie Trailer of Malcolcm X
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2rfaiu8DbRs
Link Description: This youtube channel was used to find the trailer to the original 1992 Malcolm X, which Denzel Washington starred in. He credits this as one of his greatest defining roles.

Despite His Beauty, Denzel is Not a Ladies Man

Denzel Washington has had many opportunties to film romantic scenes with many different women, including Kelly Lynch and Mimi Rogers. However, the women that he is most known for turning down is Julia Roberts, where his directors wanted him and her to partake in a sex scene in Pelican Brief.

Washington's reasons for not participating in this scene are with respect to his wife and African American women as a group in general. This goes to show Washington not only sees his own image as important, but also represents his African American race as whole.

"Because my race was persecuted for so long, I feel that it's my duty to represent myself as a proud African American man," Washington said.

His Beauty is Scientifically Proven

In 1996, Denzel Washington was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine. However even before this, people knew about his beauty due to science.

In the early 1990s, Newsweek used Denzel Washington as their primary example as perfection for beauty according to symmetry. According to the article "Biological Basis of the Perceptions of Beauty," symmetry in one's face is what makes one attractive.

And Washington has it all, including perfectly aligned eyes, a centered nose and lips, and an even hairline and ears.

Denzel Giving Back

Although many famous names in Hollywood are all about charity work to get positive publicity, Denzel Washington is a true philanthropist and has supported many different causes throughout his life, especially the Boys and Girls Club.

Beause "the Club" (which is the name Washington uses) was such a big part of his life growing up, he has become a huge advocate for them and has appeared on number public service announcements for them. He was appointed as a major spokesperson in 1992.

 Because of his gracious work, Washington was given the Herbert Hoover Humanitarian Award, which is highest award the Boys and Girls Club gives to their volunteers.

Washington currently still stands as a spokesperson and volunteers for "the Club" when possible.

Malcolm X... A Defining Role

Denzel Washington's starring part in Malcolm X is considered to be one of his defining roles in his career. "Everything I have done as an actor has been in preparation for this," Washington said.


This movie was a biography of Malcolm X, a famous leader during the Black Power movement. With his life plagued by segregation, racism, and the Ku Klux Klan, Malcolm X was known for his troublesome behavior and resentment towards the white race. Because of the times, he ends up in jail. While imprisoned, Malcolm X learns the discovers the writings of Islam and Elijah Muhammed. After his release, he goes on to share these views and live by them (he even took a trip to Mecca, the holiest city to the religion of Islam). Although his demise was a sad one where he was assassinated, his life was powerful and had a lot of powerful messages about race and the civil rights movement.

This powerful production was not released until 1992, but Washington's preparation for it began way before this. He always has been known for his excessive preparation for roles, but for Malcolm X it was considered even more extreme. He talk to more than a dozen of Malcolm X's living relatives and friends, read prison and FBI records, attended classes that shared information about the Fruit of Islam (which Malcolm X was apart of), and even fasted. Washingon would only eat one meal a day to follow the way Malcolm X lived during shooting the film for 16 whole months! "I just tried to make a spiritual connection," he says.

This role hit Washington hard due to the racial issues that arise within it. However because he is a political man, the racial issues are one of the major reasons Washington decided to take the role. He thought people could learn from this movie.The race relations in America will continue to remain controversal until the nation comes to terms with the reality of what is left over from four centuries of racism.

 "No one has dealt with the psychological scars of four hundred years of brutality and slavery. We legislated a little love in the sixties, but I don't think we've really dealt with the effects of racism to the degree that we should," Washington said.

Denzel Was Born to Act

Denzel Washington, known for his serious and profound roles in well known movies, was born on a bitter, gloomy morning on December 28, 1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. Born with the same name as his Pentecostal Minister father, he was the middle child of three children. His mother was a beautician and so he was always a well-groomed child. The Boys and Girls Club helped shaped his life as a young boy starting at the age of six. This is what his parents credit for keeping him away from drugs, alcohol, and crime.

When Washington was 14, his parents decide to go there separate ways and get a divorce. This time was very hard for him, and he began to get caught up with gangs on the streets and fighting. Because she wanted a future for her child,  Washington's benevolent mother decided to send him to boarding school.

With the good lower education that he received at boarding school, Washington attended Fordham University to study journalism. Towards the end of his college years at Fordham University, he became very interested in film and acting. After graduation, he decided to enroll at the American Conservatory Theater where he only spent a year. Washington was ready to go out and look for acting positions on his own.

Since this whirlwind beginning, Denzel Washington has become one of the world’s leading actors and has made a huge impact on film. He currently is married to Pauletta Washington and has four children. His family has always had a huge impact on his life and in 2006, he was reported saying "There's life, and there's making a living," he says. 'Family is life,'" proving his commitment to his wife and children. The Washington family to this day is seen as one of the strongest families in Hollywood.