Oscar-winning actor Denzel Washington is celebrating almost 10 years of sobriety, opening up about his health journey since quitting alcohol when he turned 60.
During an interview with Esquire for its Nov. 19 cover issue, the 69-year-old admitted he developed a subtle 15-year wine-drinking pattern starting in the late 1990s.
“I never got strung out on heroin. Never got strung out on coke. Never got strung out on hard drugs. I shot dope just like they shot dope, but I never got strung out,” he said.
“And I never got strung out on liquor. 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 has captivated audiences with his powerful performances, including “Training Day,” “The Book of Eli,” “Fences,” and “American Gangster,” but behind the scenes, he was facing a battle of his own.
He explains that he inadvertently held on to years of being “bitter” and didn’t realize he felt that way until losing the Oscar for Best Actor to Kevin Spacey in 2000.
Throughout his career, Washington received multiple Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards, and Tony Awards, with more than 200 total nominations. Despite his accomplishments, he remembers going home to drink that night of the 2000 Oscar awards.
“Pauletta would watch all the Oscar movies — I told her, I don’t care about that. Hey: ‘They don’t care about me? I don’t care.’ You vote. You watch them. I ain’t watching that. I gave up. I got bitter. My pity party,” he recalled.
Pauletta Washington, his wife of over 40 years, had always been a steady anchor for him. Still, the actor’s habitual desire for fine wine made it difficult for him to realize he was developing unhealthy patterns.
With more than 60 credits under his belt, Washington maintained a respected reputation, displaying professionalism on and off screen.
“I never drank while I was working or preparing. I would clean up, go back to work—I could do both. However many months of shooting, bang, it’s time to go. Then, boom. Three months of wine, then time to go back to work,” he said.
As Washington made the decision to leave alcohol behind, he approached sobriety with the same commitment he brought to his craft as an actor, with determination to give it his all.
“I’ve done a lot of damage to the body. We’ll see. I’ve been clean. Be ten years this December. I stopped at sixty and I haven’t had a thimble’s worth since,” he said.
“Things are opening up for me now—like being seventy. It’s real. And it’s okay. This is the last chapter—if I get another thirty, what do I want to do? My mother made it to ninety-seven.”
As a result, the actor is doing everything he can to be the best version of himself in every aspect, eating healthier and working out regularly.
“I’m doing the best I can. And not only alcohol—forget all that. Strength,” he said. “I was looking at pictures of myself and Pauletta at the Academy Awards for Macbeth, and I’m just looking fat, with this dyed hair, and I said, Those days are over, man. I feel like I’m getting strong. Strong is important.”
Washington is gearing up for his latest film, “Gladiator II,” the sequel to the 2000 original by director Ridley Scott, which is set to hit theaters on Nov. 22.
“I don’t know how many more films I’m going to make. Probably not that many. I want to do things I haven’t done,” he said.
