Denzel Washington is aging well. Just gets better with time.
The 57-year-old actor graces the October issue of GQ magazine, while gaining some exposure for his latest movie ‘Flight’ which hits theaters on November 9. For the cover shot, he epitomizes style and class in Hollywood in a Giorgio Armani suit matched with a Burberry Prorsum tie and Tom Ford shoes.
Inside, he talked with GQ about his first memories of being onstage with Ludacris’s dad when they pretended to be The Beatles, what his feelings were when he found out that his good friend Whitney Houston passed away, the importance of his faith in his life and why he compares President Obama to Jackie Robinson:
On his first memory of being onstage:
“I was around 7, 8, whatever I was. We did a talent show at the Boys Club. Me and another guy, Wayne Bridges—God rest his soul—he’s the father of Chris Bridges, Ludacris. We decided to be the Beatles. So we went to John’s Bargain Store and bought fake guitars and wigs and did ‘I Want to Hold Your Hand.’”
On whether he has any code that he lives by:
“I read from the Bible every day, and I read my Daily Word. I read something great yesterday. It said, ‘Don’t aspire to make a living. Aspire to make a difference.’”
On being filled with the Holy Spirit:
“That was thirty years ago, at the church I still attend. The minister was preaching, ‘Just let it go.’ I said, I’m going to go with it.’ And I had this tremendous physical and spiritual experience. It did frighten me. I was slobbering, crying, sweating. My cheeks blew up. I was purging. It was too intense. It almost drove me away. I called my mother, and she said I was being filled with the Holy Spirit. I was like, ‘Does that mean I can never have wine again?’”
On how he felt when Whitney Houston died:
“Whitney was my girl, and she had done so well in recovery. And that is the toughest part about addiction.”
On how he thinks Obama fits in now:
“Well, the story’s not told yet. He’s in the beginning of the third quarter. I don’t know what his legacy is yet. He’s the first—that’s a part of it. Like Jackie Robinson. But it just wasn’t the first game; it was lasting the whole thing.
