We know Denzel Washington as Malcolm X, as Joe Miller in 'Philadelphia', as a runaway
slave and a corrupt LA cop.
We see him gassing with Oprah, collecting his Oscars and giving inspiring speeches about Christ.
We decided to demystify Denzel`s ideal persona by showing some of the darker sides of his past.
Denzel`s father was a Pentecostal preacher
who had his own church.
Sundays were long for Denzel as he had to be there all day.
For a child, it was like a job; exhausting and boring.
Denzel was not at all supportive of church when it first came into his life.
His parents divorced when he was 14, and they never told Denzel why.
Once when Denzel was away at private school, his mother came to him and said, "Go get your
keys, we don't live in our house no more."
Between the ages of 14 and 18, Denzel lived with his mother, but their relationship was tough.
Every day the two had a new fight.
At one point it became so unbearable that Denzel was forced to move in with his father.
Sadly, Denzel's father could not cope with him either.
It was getting worse than living with his mother.
One day, his father just kicked him out.
The only thing he said to Denzel was: "You're just bad."
Denzel could not forgive his father for that.
The insult had cut so deep that Denzel didn`t even attend his father`s funeral.
Washington had his fair share of wild years.
In his teens he ran with a rough crowd and flirted with disaster.
He had no idea what to do with his life, so he enrolled in a pre-med course.
He soon transferred to political science and then to journalism.
But his grades went south and the college kicked him out.
He bagged his first role in a musical at New York's Lincoln Center, which was terrible
because, as he admitted later, "I can't sing".
Luckily, by his early 20s, he got a role in a TV movie called 'Wilma'.
It may have been fate, as it was there that he met his wife, Pauletta Pearson.
But his role in 'Wilma' didn`t bring him much of a breakthrough.
Denzel landed the role of 'Malcolm X' in an off-Broadway play in New York, and he has
not been unemployed since.
In his early 30s, Denzel had already reached
worldwide popularity.
Success grew beyond his wildest dreams.
He loved the way people treated him.
Denzel was invited to every party and hung out in clubs all night long.
But that path was slowly leading him to a dangerous habit of looking too deep into the bottle.
In a 1986 interview, Denzel revealed that he was trying to give up alcohol — but that's
not what happened.
Instead, Washington was slowly losing his common sense due to all the fame and constant
drinking, and one day he irresponsibly crossed the line on set...
During the filming of 'For Queen and Country', there was a scene where characters were supposed
to drink alcohol.
His friend on set offered Denzel to drink for real.
So they had some Scotch and thought they were playing it pretty cool.
The director found out about their drinking on set and got furious.
It taught Denzel a hell of a lesson.
Everyone knows that Denzel Washington has
been married to Pauletta Pearson for over 35 years and that the couple has raised 4 wonderful children.
Although, it did take tons of effort for both of them to work it out.
Denzel has been accused of infidelity in the past.
A few years ago, the actor was rumored to have had an affair with 'Out of Time' co-star, Sanaa Lathan.
The rumor started because the movie had a hot love scene with the two.
But Denzel argued that people took that movie too seriously and translated it to real life.
Well, it may be true, but we all know how the story of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie had started...
Pauletta wisely commented on the situation to the press:
And then there was the famous "kissing scandal", when media shared a photo of Denzel kissing
a “mystery woman”.
Despite the rumors that the couple is planning on parting ways, the Washingtons opened up
about their marriage, admitting that they go through ups and downs
like any couple, but they are not going to separate.
What do you think of his life story?
Thanks for watching.
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