December will mark 10 years of Denzel Washington being sober after he quit drinking for good in 2014. And while, according to him, he is approaching the last days of his career, Denzel still takes the time to reflect upon his time with drugs and alcohol and how he managed to balance his work life with his substance abuse.
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Denzel Washington sat down with Esquire and told the magazine about his past days with alcoholism and drug use. For Denzel, it all started with wine, a drink he described as "tricky" and "slow", but that he soon learned was his way of escaping bitter times.
"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," Denzel 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."
He talked about being bitter for 15 years, between 1999 and 2014. One particular episode was the 72nd Academy Awards in 2000 when he lost the Best Actor award to Kevin Spacey for his portrayal of Lester Burnham in American Beauty. He talked about how he perceived everyone was looking at him when he lost, and how he got home and drank.
A Blessed Ability To Act
Despite his heavy and consistent drinking, he had a clean work ethic. "I never drank while I was working or preparing," Denzel said. "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 would spend thousands of dollars on expensive wine, ordering two bottles at a time to prevent him from "drinking more."
Denzel Washington didn't even drink when filming Flight. In this 2014 movie, Denzel portrays Captain William Whitaker, a cocaine user and alcoholic pilot. "I'm sure I did as soon as I finished," he said about his drinking. "That was getting toward the end of the drinking, but I knew a lot about waking up and looking around, not knowing what happened."
Denzel stopped drinking in 2014, describing how being "blessed with this ability to act" was a sign that he was "put on this planet to do good." "I've done a lot of damage to my body. We'll see. I've been clean," Denzel said. "I'll be ten years this December. I stopped at sixty and I haven't had a thimble's worth since."
