Denzel Washington

“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...”

“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.”

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

“My faith helps me understand that circumstances don't dictate my happiness, my inner peace.”

“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.”

“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...”

“I and haven't been unemployed for 20 years. I'm an exception to the rule.”

“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.”

“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. Onc...”

“In any profession it gets to be a grind.”

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

“I wasn't allowed to go to movies when I was kid; my father was a minister. 101 Dalmatians and King of Kings, that was the extent of it.”

“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.”

“I'm not in the loop; I don't know any actors, really, just the ones I work with.”

“Acting is just a way of making a living, the family is life.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“If you don't trust the pilot, don't go.”

“The poorest people are the sweetest people.”