*Denzel Washington is earning acclaim for his role in the upcoming “Gladiator II” movie while also celebrating a major personal achievement: 10 years of sobriety from alcohol and drugs.
The Oscar winner reflected on this achievement in an interview, acknowledging the harm he had done to his body during years of substance use.
“I stopped at 60 and I haven’t had a thimble’s worth since,” Washington, 69, told Esquire in a new cover story published Wednesday. “Things are opening up for me now — like being 70. It’s real.”
The Hollywood icon revealed that “wine was my thing” and admitted to using alcohol as a way to cope with losing the 2000 Best Actor Oscar to Kevin Spacey. Washington had been nominated for “The Hurricane,” while Spacey won for “American Beauty.”
“Drinking was a 15-year pattern” but noted that he “never got strung out” on hard drugs during his younger years while hanging with “dope fiends” in his New York neighborhood.
“I shot dope like they shot dope, but I never got strung out. And I never got strung out on liquor,” he said.
“I had this ideal idea of wine tastings and all that — which is what it was at first. And that’s a very subtle thing. I mean, I drank the best,” Washington continued.
“I never drank while I was working or preparing. I would clean up, go back to work,” he added. “However many months of shooting, bang, it’s time to go. Then, boom. Three months of wine, then time to go back to work.”
Speaking about his faith, Denzel said, “I know now. God is real. God is love. God is the only way. God is the true way. God blesses. It’s my job to lift God up, to give Him praise, to make sure that anyone and everyone I speak to the rest of my life understands that He is responsible for me.”
He continued, “I’m unafraid. I don’t care what anyone thinks.”
You can catch Washington as the cunning manipulator Macrinus, the Master of gladiators, in Paramount’s “Gladiator II,” which is set to release theatrically on Friday (Nov. 22).
Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Pedro Pascal, the film “continues the epic saga of power, intrigue, and vengeance set in Ancient Rome. Years after witnessing the death of revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius (Paul Mescal) is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people,” per the official synopsis.
The cast includes Paul Mescal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Lior Raz, Derek Jacobi, and Connie Nielson.
According to Deadline, the film is set for a $60M+ domestic debut after earning $87M internationally, the largest November opening for an R-rated film, and a career-best for Scott and Washington.
Watch the new trailer below.
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