Award-winning actor, producer and director Denzel Washington is attributing his long-standing successful career to God.
Washington, 67, was recently interviewed on Showtime's Desus & Mero podcast, where he spoke about his latest film, The Tragedy of Macbeth and what were some of the biggest lessons he learned throughout his career.
"One of the lessons I learned was taught by my mentor at the boy's club, now the boy's and girl's club, Billy Thomas," Washington told co-hosts Desus Nice and The Kid Mero. "I was running track, and a new guy joined the team. … Billy could see I was out of character because this guy was faster. He said, 'yeah, Denzel, he's faster than you, but he doesn't have the fundamentals.'… He said, 'your natural ability will only take you so far.'"
"So when I got to that place, by the grace of God, I realized I was given this ability to act and direct, but I remembered my natural ability would only take me so far," he continued. "So, I had to study more, I had to get deeper, I had to learn more. So, that's what I did, and it paid off, and it's paying off now."
When asked to share one important lesson he learned from Hollywood that people should know, Washington pointed to God's grace as the source of all talent, CBN News reports.
"One of the most important lessons in life that you should know is to remember to have an attitude of gratitude, of humility, understand where the gift comes from," the actor stressed. "It's not mine, it's been given to me by the grace of God."
"[To] use what I have, use what you have … to help others. On your last day, you can't take it with you," he said. "But you can leave it here. You never see a U-Haul behind a hearse," he added.
At the close of every interview, guests on the Desus and Mero podcast have a virtual neon sign placed above their heads. The sign can say whatever the guests want it to say. When co-host Desus asked Washington what he wanted his sign to say, the actor replied, "Blessed."
According to Cinema Blend, Washington was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar for his performance in Macbeth. The award show takes place this Sunday. Washington, a 9-time Oscar nominee, won the coveted award twice, once for his performance in Glory (1990) and again for his performance in Training Day (2001).
Related:
'This Is Spiritual Warfare': Denzel Washington Warns against Self-Obsession in the Last Days
Denzel Washington Encourages Men to Stay in Prayer
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Neilson Barnard/Staff
Video courtesy: ©Showtime/Desus & Mero
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
