World-renowned actor Denzel Washington expressed his support for America’s law enforcement and military when promoting his new films, “The Little Things,” in which he once again plays a law enforcement officer.
Speaking with Yahoo Entertainment, Washington said that he has the “utmost respect” for the men and women who put their lives on the line to keep people safe.
“I have the utmost respect for what they do, for what our soldiers do, [people] that sacrifice their lives. I just don’t care for people who put those kind of people down. If it weren’t for them, we would not have the freedom to complain about what they do,” he said.
Washington’s respect for law enforcement goes all the way back to when he participated in a ride along while researching his 1991 role in the movie “Ricochet.”
“I went out on a call with a sergeant. We got a call of a man outside his house with a rifle that was distraught. We pulled up and did a U-turn past the house and came up short of the house. He told me to sit in the car, which I was gonna do. I wasn’t getting out,” he said. “He got out. As he got out, another car came screaming up, and two young people jumped out screaming. As it turned out, it was their grandfather. This policeman defused the entire situation by just remaining calm.”
Though the situation did not spiral out of control, Washington understood how quickly a police officer can lose their life.
“But it showed me in an instant how they can lose their life,” he said. “He didn’t overreact. He could’ve pulled his gun out and shot the people that came up driving real fast. He could’ve shot the old man that was distraught and a bit confused; I think he was suffering a little bit from dementia. But in an instant, it taught me, and I never forgot it, what our law enforcement people have to deal with moment to moment, second to second.”
Denzel Washington has been quite outspoken about his Christian beliefs for several years and has even credited his success to the grace of God.
“My father, my earthly father, Denzel Washington Sr. was a pastor for the Church of God in Christ for 60 years. I know he’s smiling in heaven, seeing his son doing the best I can do today, by the grace of God,” he told the St. Louis American.
After his parents got a divorce when he was 14, Denzel Washington fell into trouble, prompting his mother to send him to a military academy to straighten him out. While there, he recalled a moment in which a woman told him to go and preach to the world.
“I had flunked out of college. I had a 1.7-grade point average. I had no future… I was sitting looking in the mirror and I see a woman behind me sitting under the dryer. Of course, the voice of God always comes from under a dryer. She said, ‘Young man, you are going to travel the world and speak to people.’ Now mind you, I was 20 years old, with a 1.7-grade point average and had flunked out of school. She said, ‘you are going to preach,’” Denzel said