By Michaela Gordoni
Denzel Washington revealed that we’ve been saying his name wrong for years.
“Did you know that there are currently four players named Denzel in the NFL?” Jimmy Kimmel told Washington on his show recently. “There weren’t that many before your first Oscar. There were zero in 1987.”
“I know. There’s a lot of Denzels now. And this is how you know they named themselves after me, because my name is not pronounced Den-ZELL,” he said.
“My name is pronounced DEN-zel,” Washington said, using a clipped “e” vowel in the second syllable.
His mom changed the pronunciation because Washington shares the same name with his father, and they would both respond when she said “Denzel.”
“I’m Denzel Jr. My father’s Denzel Hayes Washington Sr. I’m Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. My mother would say Denzel, and we’d both show up. So she said, ‘From now on, you’re Den-ZELL.'” he recalled his mom saying.
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“Well, that’s how she did it. That’s how it got pronounced Den-ZELL,” the actor said.
“Oh, that’s smart!” Kimmel said.
@thegnshow we’ve been pronouncing #denzelwashington wrong this whole time 😮 #grahamnorton #thegrahamnortonshow #hilarious
♬ original sound – The Graham Norton Show – The Graham Norton Show
Kimmel pointed out that Washington’s name grew in popularity after he won his first Oscar in 1990.
“There ought to be some kind of compensation for this, should there not?” Washington joked.
“You should get a small percentage of each jersey sale.” Kimmel quipped.
Washington’s father was actually named after the doctor who delivered him, Dr. Denzel, Pure Wow reported.
Director Spike Lee recently praised Washington’s acting skills.
“One of the many things that makes Denzel a genius is he’s not just relying on the script or relying on the director, he’s bringing his full essence,” Lee complimented him. “He brings his full being into every role that he does. And when you have someone like that — that’s why I say he’s the greatest living actor.”
Lee’s new movie with Washington, HIGHEST 2 LOWEST, came out on Apple TV+ on Friday. The movie is a retelling of the Kurosawa 1963 police procedural drama, HIGH AND LOW, about a businessman stuck in the middle of a botched kidnapping.
“He called me up — I didn’t even recognize his phone number,” Lee, 68, told Business Insider. “We haven’t done anything since INSIDE MAN, which was 18, 19 years ago. He told me he was going to send me the script, and before I even hung up the phone, I knew I was doing it.”
The director gave Washington full liberty to change the script in HIGHEST 3 LOWEST.
“You have to know your personnel. So when you have Denzel on the set: Michael Jordan. He’s got the green light to do whatever he wants to do. If Denzel wants to get off-script, I’m not saying a… thing,” he said.
No matter how Washington’s name is pronounced, he will always be a Hollywood legend.
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