Actor Denzel Washington has revealed that he has been sober for ten years, having at times drank two bottles of wine a day, but never while working.
Not a dice of alcohol. During a recent interview about his career with Esquire magazine, Denzel Washington said he had been sober for ten years. The “Gladiator II” actor explained that he stopped drinking at age 60, after drinking two bottles of wine daily at certain times in his life. “Wine was my thing,” said the star, explaining that he had “a wine cellar with ten thousand bottles” built in his house. Stating that he had learned to “drink the best”, he however explained that his alcohol consumption had subsequently become problematic.
“I was drinking $4,000 bottles just because that was what was left,” the actor said, remembering also one day calling a liquor store to “ask them to send him two bottles, the best of this or that.” “My wife then asked me: 'Why are you only ordering two bottles?' I said, “Because if I order more, I’ll drink more.” So I stuck to two bottles and drank them both during the day,” continued the star, also stressing that he “never drank while he was working or getting ready.”
The movie “Flight” was probably therapeutic
“I had this ideal idea of wine tastings and everything else – that's what it was at first,” the Oscar winner continued in 2002 for “Training Day,” before conceding to drinking for fifteen years . Denzel Washington finally decided to stop everything some time after filming the feature film “Flight”, released in 2012, where he played a seasoned alcoholic airline pilot. “I know during Flight I was thinking about those who have gone through addiction,” the 70-year-old actor explained, noting that the film was probably “therapeutic.”
Considering a posteriori to have caused “a lot of damage to (his) body”, he assured that he was now completely “abstinent”. “It will be ten years in December. I stopped at 60 and I haven’t had a thimble since.” “I do my best. And not just alcohol,” the star also said, recounting that she is following real sports training today thanks to her friend Lenny Kravitz. A healthy lifestyle that is now impeccable.
