Denzel Washington is a world-famous personality who has been in the limelight for decades. But, there’s a part of him, which a lot of people are not aware of. Denzel recently declared that he is a proud Christian, even though his religious journey has been quite rough.

Born in Mount Vernon, New York on December 28 1954, he has always been in commune with God. With his father being a Reverend and Pentecostal Minister and mother being a beautician, Denzel spent most of his childhood bouncing between the church and the parlor. He shared a very special bond with his father.

While Denzel was growing older his faith started wavering and he had doubts about God. He started to spend more time on the streets, indulging in fights, and it intensified with his parents getting divorced when he was 14.

Denzel was not great at school and his behavior was worsening so his mom decided to put enroll him at Oakland Military Academy. This was the time when he became one with God.

When he came back to visit his home after flunking school with 1.7 grade points, he heard a woman tell him “You are going to preach.”

Denzel took inspiration from this and got himself enrolled in Fordham University, where he studied medicine and played basketball, but he did not pursue a career in medicine. He took a semester off and started looking for his true passion. This is when he got a chance of being a Creative Arts Director at YMCA, and was suggested by someone to make his career in acting.

Denzel found his new passion and came back to Fordham to pursue a degree in Arts in Journalism. One thing led to another and he got himself cast in the Hollywood Box Office hits, Carbon Copy, Crimson Tide, Glory, The Hurricane etc. His biggest hit was Training Day, which won him the best actor award at Oscar’s. In spite of all the success, his faith in God never receded.

As per Denzel, “There’s never been a time where God didn’t direct, protect, and correct me…. There may have been times where I was less than faithful to Him, but He had faith in me.”

This relationship with the Almighty has helped him in being happy, famous and fortunate. And, in midst of all this, he worked hard on making his marriage with Pauletta Pearson successful and strong despite the stress and challenges of his career.

Pauletta says that a marriage is not always about happiness. It is about giving support and stability to the partner, as well. Only a strong and brave wife can stand like a pillar of support to a husband who is a famous personality.

And, as per Denzel, “I think that you have to really work at it. You should not give up on each other. It’s a commitment. It’s not all honeymoon, it doesn’t last forever.”

Success is a relative term, and may not last for long, but marriage is a lifelong commitment which needs to be honored. He says that one should put God first in whatever they do, and God will take care of everything for them.

Being the rebellious teenager that he was, it was God who bestowed the blessings on him and made him what he is, today.

11 cool facts about Denzel Washington that you probably didn’t know about

We all know Denzel Washington as the famous actor, producer and director. This multi-faceted personality requires no introduction. He was the first Afro-American to have won the Oscars twice, Golden Globes three times and also a Tony Award. He is still going strong with his career. Some of his best movies include Training Day, Pelican Brief, Safe House, Philadelphia, Crimson Tide, etc. Denzel’s stint with the Military School has allowed him to successfully play various roles of military personnel in his hit movies.

Here are 11 facts about Denzel Washington you might not know:

A talent show winner

At a summer camp in YMCA Denzel won a talent show for acting, which made him pursue a degree in Drama and Journalism.

Spokesperson

Denzel was the national spokesperson for Boys and Girls Club.

Love for Whitney Houston

He kept pursuing Whitney Houston for a year, in spite of her turning down the role in “The Preacher’s wife”, and finally she had to relent.

Stuntman on his own

Yes, Washington believes in doing his own stunts. He did all of the fighting scenes in “The Book of Eli” and really enjoyed them.

Military School training

Denzel’s rebellious behavior made his parents send him to Oakland Military School, which helped in keeping him out of trouble.

Faith in God

Washington got a prophecy that he would be speaking to millions of people, and would be doing greater things in life, when he was 20 years old. This prophecy turned him around and revived his faith in God.

His Father was Pastor

Denzel’s father was Pentecostal Minister, in two churches.

Crooked pinky finger

A basketball game during childhood injured his pinky finger. The finger is still crooked, and is bent almost 45 degrees compared to all other fingers.

Perfect features

Denzel has the perfect facial symmetry, which makes him so attractive. With a perfect nose, aligned eyes, ears and lips, Denzel’s face is definitely worth a million bucks.

Typical father

Washington has four kids whom he takes around for all sorts of school events and sports activities. As per him, the family is his real life while entertainment was fantasy. His priority in life is to take care of people rather than becoming famous. But we know that he can’t help being famous.

He still wants to be a preacher

Washington still feels that he chose the wrong profession of entertainment and he should have gone into preaching.

Denzel Washington is one of those rare personalities who looks good and is also a person with a golden heart. We look forward to watching more of his movies in the coming years. Some of Denzel’s favorite advice is, “You pray for rain, you got to deal with the mud too. That’s a part of it.” This is probably one of the reasons for his success. His unwavering faith in God has helped him in choosing the right projects and deal with the everyday decisions. He continues to read the Bible. He reads all kinds of spiritual books, and starts off his day with that.