A biography for John David Washingtonhasn’t been written yet.
“Hate has a language, so we have to find a language to combat that.”
“I got a scholarship, so I was getting my independence and not paying for school. And then here comes the NFL. 'Now you got an opportunity to get drafted? Guess we'll do that.' I did, all right.”
“I was ignorant before I did my research of a lot of African American police officers out there who are doing their job and doing it the right way.”
“It's a thankless job for police officers, period, but specifically for men and women of color protecting and serving.”
“I'm connected to a Wesley Snipes, and I'm connected to Giancarlo Esposito because of the history of films that we've all been a part of with Spike Lee.”
“I've met Caucasians who are racist, but I've also heard black people say racist things.”
“Spike Lee is a master of tone, so basically, if he wants to do something, he should do it, and Imma listen.”
“My mom had an encounter with the KKK when she was, I think, 7 years old in North Carolina. She snuck into a cross burning. I'm so lucky she didn't get caught, because I wouldn't be here.”
“My mother taught me how to love.”
“I've had the acting bug since I was, like, five. But growing up, I saw how people treated me differently when they knew who my father was, even the stuff I did on the field. Sometimes I'd rush for 100 yards, and the headline would be, 'Denzel's son runs for 100 yards.' That's where the suppression of that bug came from.”
“I've been reluctant in doing press stuff - even my Instagram isn't properly managed; I manage it myself. It's kind of by design. I knew that would be what people see first.”
“If I can inspire one person to actually administer change, to want to inspire change, I will follow that person.”
“Who would I be if I complained about having a father that provided for me? Who would I be if I was complaining about having a father who loved me? That would make me a real jerk.”
“I went to private school, but I've got family from North Carolina.”
“Football helped me with confidence that I needed. It gave me a sense of independence and earning my own money and my own keep. That's what it served. It gave me the strength to be able to deal with rejection, politics, hard work, and being introduced to pain and embracing what's uncomfortable.”
“My father taught me how to hunt.”
“I felt a little anxious/nervous representing a real person in a Spike Lee film.”
“I had family in Carolina who were very hood and talked differently in this sort of Southern cadence.”
“My mother is very positive and encouraging and nurturing, as a mother should be. She's my auditioning partner. She says when it's not good enough; she says when I'm ready.”
“Oh, talking about private school, man, I had cornrows, and when I picked 'em out, certain people that didn't look like me always wanted to touch 'em. One time, I just said, 'Yo, hell no.'”