Denzel Washington Quotations | Page 2

It's not what you know, it's what you can prove.

Growing up I didn't watch movies.

Every punch that's thrown is mine. Every punch that's caught, I catch....

So the desire you have, that itch that you have to be whatever it is you want to be … that itch, that desire for good is God's proof to you sent already to indicate that it's yours. You already have it. Claim it.

There is nothing good or bad, except by comparison" (209) - "Effort is Everything" by Bud Selig

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.

Money doesn't buy happiness. Some people say it's a heck of a down payment, though.

It was never my dream to be famous. I didn’t start acting to be a movie star. I started in the theater and my desire was to get better at my craft. It’s still my desire. I don’t consider myself a movie star, nor do I really have the desire to be one. I’m just an entertainer...An actor who works hard at his craft. Whatever labels people give me, that’s not really me or part of my process.

I'm from around Tennessee. I ran away when I was 12 years old and I ain't never looked back.

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

What's a celebrity anyway? Paris Hilton's a celebrity. I'm just a working actor.

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.

I've worked with children all my life.

Revenge is a meal best served cold.

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.

You never know how you're going to affect people.

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

Talent comes from God. If you have been given some, then value it, cultivate it, work and develop it.

I am not going to bury my son! My son is going to bury me!

If you want to be a warrior, you have to train.

I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith.

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

You will never see a U-Haul behind a hearse,

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.

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.

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.

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

Put God first in everything you do.

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

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.

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

I get nervous when a picture goes beyond two hours.

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.

I read a ton of scripts. I read a lot of scripts, and you read one, and first of all, you felt like you read it in 14 minutes, because you're turning the pages so fast you can't wait to see what's going to happen.

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.

Don't be afraid to fail big, to dream big.

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.

For me, success is inner peace. That's a good day for me.

The poorest people are the sweetest people.

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.

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

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,

I read the Bible every day.

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

I found that nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks.

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.

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.

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,

In marriage, if you're a guy, learn two phrases. One is "yes, dear" and the other is "honey, you're right." Be patient. Be good friends first. And stick together. You gotta work at it. It's not all a honeymoon, it's not all flowers and roses, but if you're friends and partners and committed, you'll be okay. And everybody's got advice for you - don't listen.

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.

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.

True desire in the heart for anything good is God's proof to you sent beforehand to indicate that it's yours already,

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.

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.

Luck is where opportunity meets preparation.

To protect the sheep, you gotta catch the wolf. And it takes a wolf to catch a wolf, you understand?

I believe in God. I don't fear man, I fear God.

Writing is a weapon and it’s more powerful than a fist could ever be.

When we shot "Cry Freedom," I wasn't even allowed in South Africa. They told me I could come but I wasn't going to leave. I had heavy death threats at that time. So we shot in Zimbabwe.In 1995, I had the privilege and the honor to meet Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela the same day: I had breakfast with Desmond Tutu and lunch with Nelson Mandela. Then I had the good fortune to have Mr. Mandela actually come to my house in California.here's been a tremendous amount of change.

I walk by faith, not by sight.

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

Nothing in life is worthwhile unless you take risks. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.

If you don't fail, you're not even trying.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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?

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.

Do what you have to do, to do what you want to do.

Don't aspire to make a living, aspire to make a difference.

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

Just stick with your kids. There's no set of rules on how to be a parent. No handbook. Just hang around your kids and ask them a lot of questions. You have to stay involved in your children's lives and monitor everything they're doing whether they like it or not. You're not in the job of making them like it. You're there to protect them in a world that can be troubling.

Fall forward. Here's what I mean: Reggie Jackson struck out 2,600 times in his career - the most in the history of baseball. But you don't hear about the strikeouts. People remember the home runs. Fall forward. Thomas Edison conducted 1,000 failed experiments. Did you know that? I didn't either - because number 1,001 was the light bulb. Fall forward. Every failed experiment is one step closer to success.

Be careful what you ask for because when you pray for rain, you have to deal with the mud as well.

Thank God in advance for what's already yours.

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.

Do what you gotta do so you can do what you wanna do.

Goals on the road to achievement cannot be achieved without discipline and consistency.

When they said my name, I said, 'There is no way I can go up here without sharing it with Rubin,' ... Everything that has happened with this film and this moment is about the love that has come from him.

I actually sat out in the audience a few times with my mother.

Part of the reason I liked the idea of doing the film was that it was very wordy. I was getting good practice playing Brutus. So 'Inside Man' felt a bit like Shakespeare goes to the streets or something.

We do what we have to do so we can do what we want to do.

We're not sure yet who will play my father,

You can’t break me because you didn’t make me.

So you never know who you touch. You never know how or when you'll have an impact, or how important your example can be to someone else" (20).

Family is life; acting is making a living.

We just go. It's a shorthand. It's familiar.

It's about one of the biggest and most notorious drug dealers in the history of America, Frank Lucas and a New York detective, Richie Roberts, who tracks him down.

It's not only a pleasure, but an honor for me to be here tonight.

It's hard because a lot of people expect me to be a certain way,'' says J.D., whose face is a bit fuller, yet sounds strikingly like his father.

I've heard (the rumors). Having babies, I've left home and all this... I'm a big boy. I can take it. But what bothers me about all of that stuff is the effect on the family.

I want to be responsible. If I give you $50 million, it's because I want my money to come back. Not because I like your haircut.

I'm on a plane tonight. No partying tonight. I gotta hit it, I gotta do what I gotta do so I can do what I want to do. I gotta work. They call it show business.

I really want my father's life to be portrayed honestly. I don't want people getting drawn into the theatre because they want to see the last scene where he's shot and killed.

If there is a political message I don't know what it is. Don't rob a bank?

The hat kept the sun off of me but, to be honest, it's a handle. I worked the hat. We had one hat and one tie, by the way. I don't know if anyone knows this, but by the last scene in the movie at the restaurant, the hat is falling apart.