110+ Denzel Washington Quotes On Success, Consistency And Acting

Denzel Washington is an American actor, director, and producer. He has won two Academy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. He is known for his roles in films such as The Hurricane, Training Day, and Malcolm X. Following is our collection on famous quotes by Denzel Washington on success, consistency, life.

Top 10 Denzel Washington Quotes

1. Put God first in everything you do ... Everything that I have is by the grace of God, understand that. It's a gift ... I didn't always stick with Him, but He stuck with me.
2. Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.
3. Be careful what you ask for because when you pray for rain, you have to deal with the mud as well.
4. The chances you take… the people you meet… the people you love...the faith that you have - that’s what’s going to define your life.
5. Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do.
6. 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?
7. Nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.
8. My mother used to tell me man gives the award, God gives the reward. I don't need another plaque.
9. Got to be who you are in this world, no matter what.
10. I don't concern myself with award. I'd been to the party enough times to know it really didn't matter.

Denzel Washington Image Quotes

Got to be who you are in this world, no matter what. — Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington Short Quotes

• Money doesn't buy happiness. Some people say it's a heck of a down payment, though.
• Do what you gotta do so you can do what you wanna do.
• I believe in God. I don't fear man, I fear God.
• Man gives you the award but God gives you the reward.
• Put God first in everything you do.
• The poorest people are the sweetest people.
• If you want to be a warrior, you have to train.
• I walk by faith, not by sight.
• It's not what you know, it's what you can prove.
• In my humble opinion, in the nuclear world, the true enemy is war itself.

Denzel Washington Quotes About Success

The secret to a happy marriage? Do whatever your wife tells you. 'Yes, dear.' And breathe. — Denzel Washington

Luck is where opportunity meets preparation. — Denzel Washington

You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That's a part of it. — Denzel Washington

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

I say luck is when an opportunity comes along and you're prepared for it. — Denzel Washington

Every failed experiment is one step closer to success. — 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

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. — Denzel Washington

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

I think a role model is a mentor - someone you see on a daily basis, and you learn from them. — Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington Quotes About Life

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

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. — 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

I’ve found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. — Denzel Washington

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

We all are doing the best we can. I would like to say that I'm a walking poster board for feminism and women's liberation, but there are things that I do in my life that deeply, deeply fall short of being a statement for being a strong woman. I am flawed as much as anyone else. — Denzel Washington

I work hard for the audience. It's entertainment. I don't need validation. — Denzel Washington

I never really had the classic struggle. I had faith. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

I'd be more frightened by not using whatever abilities I'd been given. I'd be more frightened by procrastination and laziness. — Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington Quotes About Love

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

As an actor in the theater you're taught that you never play a bad guy. You have to love who you are. You can't say, "Oh, I'm a bad guy." How do you play that? — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

Hate put me in prison. Love's gonna bust me out. — Denzel Washington

Bad guys need love too. — Denzel Washington

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

There are films that I don't like, and then someone will come up to me and say it's their favorite movie. The movies belong to the people. You make them and you put them out. For me, I love the process of making films. For me, my favorite film is always my next one. — 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

When you trust the director you want to trust his or her choices. I don't want to say, 'No, I don't like this girl or that guy," when the director really loves them. No, you want to go with what the director likes. — Denzel Washington

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

Denzel Washington Quotes About Acting

What we did [shooting "Fences"] was we got young students from Carnegie Mellon, the acting and theater students, and we had them as our understudies. I told them, "You have to be off book and be ready. If Viola [Davis] has to leave you have to jump in." — Denzel Washington

One good thing about acting in film is that it's good therapy. — Denzel Washington

That's where you can find things and modulate your performance and give the other actors something fresh to respond to. We've probably all worked with actors who when it's suddenly your close up, they get sleepy. I don't like that. It's selfish acting, and I won't tolerate it. — Denzel Washington

In 2009, Scott Rudin sent me August's [Wilson] original screenplay [Fences] and asked me what I wanted to do with it. He wanted to know if I wanted to act in it, direct it or produce it. I said, "Well, let me read it first." — Denzel Washington

We'll all retire from life at some point. The great thing about acting is you don't necessarily have to retire. — 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

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

The only reason I'm acting in films I direct is to get the money to make them, quite frankly, it's not what I'm interested in doing. — Denzel Washington

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 just try to be honest and true to the character and play the part. — Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington Quotes About Dreams

Don't be afraid to fail big, to dream big. — Denzel Washington

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

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

It's very important to transcend places that hold us. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington Quotes About Inspiring

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. — Denzel Washington

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 — Denzel Washington

I read the Bible every day. — Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington Quotes About Made

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

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

[Rose from "Fences"] couldn't just jump out there. Not just because of economic reasons but because how she was looked at in society at the time. There were a lot of factors that made you stay I guess. — Denzel Washington

At the end of the day, it's not about what you have or even what you've accomplished. It's about what you've done with those accomplishments. Its about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It about what you've given back" (23). — Denzel Washington

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. — 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

A film is just like a muffin. You make it. You put it on the table. One person might say, Oh, I don't like it. One might say it's the best muffin ever made. One might say it's an awful muffin. It's hard for me to say. It's for me to make the muffin. — Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington Famous Quotes And Sayings

I pray that you all put your shoes way under the bed at night so that you gotta get on your knees in the morning to find them. And while you're down there thank God for grace and mercy and understanding. We all fall short of the glory, we all got plenty. — Denzel Washington

Got to be who you are in this world, no matter what. — Denzel Washington

Some said America took a step forward electing a black president. In light of the unconstitutiona l expansion of powers, lack of transparency and fueling the fires of unrest that clearly hasn't been the case. Vote based on merits, not to fill a racial quota. — 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

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. — Denzel Washington

There's always got to be room for what you might call benign corruption. Nobody blames a man who steals food to feed his starving children, but on the other hand, somebody who picks up a badge and takes an oath to serve and protect; we do expect a certain level of essential honesty. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

My mother never gave up one me. I messed up in school so much they were sending me home, but my mother sent me right back. — 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 actually don't hang out with any celebrities. My closest friends are old friends. And my real close friends, none of them are actors. — Denzel Washington

I'm not interested in being a celebrity; I'm interested in being a better actor and a better director. — Denzel Washington

I even asked [Saniyya Sidney] why she wanted to be an actor and she said, "I'm serious about this. These other little kids they want to play, and I don't have time for that." — Denzel Washington

Taking the money from drug operations and all that sort of stuff is something that goes past what most of us in society would expect a policeman should do. That temptation hits the police force at the same time as the temptation to take those drugs that are readily available hits the people on the streets. — Denzel Washington

Black or white good parts are hard to come by. A good actor with a good opportunity has a shot; without the opportunity it doesn't matter how good you are. — Denzel Washington

I and haven't been unemployed for 20 years. I'm an exception to the rule. — Denzel Washington

Revenge is a meal best served cold. — Denzel Washington

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

I've always felt protected. That's the God's honest truth. — Denzel Washington

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. — Denzel Washington

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. — 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

You will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse. — Denzel Washington

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

Raising the standard of the work, not complaining about somebody not voting. — 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

Sometimes when you're the good guy, you're sort of trapped. "Oh, he can't say that." And even when you're playing a real person like a Steven Biko, you're sort of stuck within those confines. So yeah, bad guys do have more fun. — Denzel Washington

I was first introduced to August Wilson in the 80s when Charles Dutton did Ma Rainey and James Earl Jones and Courtney Vance did Fences. I've long considered August Wilson to be one of the five greatest playwrights in American history. — 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

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

That's what I tell young actors. "You don't have to compromise. Go do some theater and wait for an appropriate role." — 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

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. — 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

The lessons I learned in Sunday School have kept me on track — Denzel Washington

In Los Angeles, everyone is a star. — Denzel Washington

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 — Denzel Washington

We know what hair smells like when a hot comb hits it. That's a cultural thing. We know what that smells like on Sunday mornings, usually church-related or something. In my house, it was getting ready for church and your sister was getting her hair fried. — Denzel Washington

I'm a parent. I think we're responsible for the problems that young people have. I believe that. I don't blame them for any of it. I blame us for what we haven't done as mothers and fathers, not sticking together as a unit. — Denzel Washington

I just do what I feel and what I like. I don't necessarily censor or feel an obligation to have a particular moral standard - I'm willing to wallow in the mud, if necessary. It appears as if there seems to be a consistency in result, but maybe that has as much to do with the roles I choose as it does with how I play them. I do what pleases me. — Denzel Washington

I've just directed a film called The Great Debaters, which is inspired by a true story about a young college debating team in the thirties and two of those people are still alive and we put them on tape on the film and I'm sure that will be added to the DVD, and to get the opportunity to do that is very cool. — Denzel Washington

If you take the time and put in the effort to write your own material and absolutely refuse to be denied the right to make your film it is difficult whatever colour you are. — Denzel Washington

My mother used to tell me: "You gotta smile more. Because if you don't smile, the way you look at people, they'll think you're mad at them." — Denzel Washington

I asked my mother I said, "You divorced my dad, how did you decide? She said, "I decided twelve years before he knew it." I was like wow; I'm learning something new every day. — Denzel Washington

The strongest, toughest men all have compassion. They're not heartless and cold. You have to be man enough to have compassion - to care about people and about your children" (217) - John Singleton "Oh Man, I've Become My Father — 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

I talked to my mother about it a lot. I asked her what it was like to grow up in New York and Harlem in the 1920s and 1930s, and I asked her about a woman leaving her husband. I asked her about how she would feel about that woman, and my mother grew up in the Church Of God In Christ, and she told me that the woman might be isolated because the other women thought she might go and come after their husbands. That's how they thought then. — Denzel Washington

It's strictly business. If I loan you $25 million, I want my money back. I don't want to hear about the social impact. That's great for you, but now I'm $25 million in the hole, so next time you come to ask me. — 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

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

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. — Denzel Washington

When you make a movie it's always interesting, because you end up in places you never would as a normal visitor or tourist. — Denzel Washington

Americans love to talk about the Constitution and how it protects the rights of every citizen and promises freedom to every citizen, but it's also a country based on racism and they don't talk about that too much and every time there's a film which deals with it there's certain parts of the country that feel uncomfortable. — Denzel Washington

In fact, someone was telling me that Gladiator was the one film where Ridley Scott didn't take a producer's credit. And it won. But this guy changed the industry twice; with Aliens which was a whole new way of looking at things and Blade Runner that was also a whole new way of looking at things. — Denzel Washington

Viola [Davis] is one of the great actors of her generation. She has one of these moments in the theater that I don't even know how to describe. — Denzel Washington

[Martin] Scorsese probably could have directed Schindler's List and [Steven] Spielberg probably could have directed Goodfellas. But it's as much to do with the difference in culture as it is with race. — Denzel Washington

I think that we all at some point are in search of something - a higher power, whatever you want to call it, the meaning of life. I know I was, especially at even my son's age in my 20s, and dabbling in Eastern philosophies and yoga and Buddhism and Christianity and Islam. I kind of touched them all, you know, just trying to figure out the meaning of life or if nothing else, figure myself out. — Denzel Washington

I've worked with children all my life. — Denzel Washington

We live in a time when people give up too easy. — Denzel Washington

Life Lessons by Denzel Washington

1. Denzel Washington is an example of how hard work and dedication can lead to success. He has worked hard to become a successful actor and has used his success to help others.
2. Denzel Washington is also an example of how to stay humble and generous despite success. He has used his fame to help charities and those in need.
3. Denzel Washington is a great example of how to stay focused and determined in the face of adversity. He has faced many challenges in his life and has always come out on top.