He’s an Oscar-winning actor and one of the most honored film stars of his generation. Yet people apparently still don’t correctly pronounce his first name.
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. visited Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Tuesday, Sept. 2, and revealed most people do not pronounce his first name correctly. His mother, Lennis Washington, was cited as the reason.
The name game came up during a conversation about the number of NFL players who are also named Denzel (at the 7:50 mark in the interview).
“This is how you know they named themselves after me,” the 70-year-old Washington said during the Jimmy Kimmel Live! appearance.
“My name is not pronounced Denzel.” Instead of “DEN-zel,” Washington said his name’s correct pronunciation is “DEN-zuhl.”
His mother was the origin of the switch, he explained. “My father’s Denzel Hayes Washington Sr. I’m Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. My mother would say ‘DEN-zuhl,’ and we’d both show up.
“So she said, ‘From now on, you’re Denzel,’” the actor said, using the pronunciation that has been common for years. “That’s how we got Denzel.”
Washington’s influence on the culture is obvious in the names dotting the rosters of the National Football League.
Washington joked that he should be credited for inspiring the number of “Denzel” players in the league since 1987, when there were none, according to Kimmel. When Washington won his first Oscar in 1990, the name entered the larger pop culture, and there are now four players in the NFL bearing the first name Denzel.
Kimmel agreed that he deserved compensation for the use of his name. “You should get a small percentage of each jersey sale,” the comic said jokingly.
This isn’t the first time Washington has brought up the pronunciation of his name. He also spoke of it while on the Graham Norton Show in 2013.
Washington is currently starring in Spike Lee’s latest film, Highest 2 Lowest, which is streaming this month on Apple TV+ after a short run in theaters.
The acting legend plays a wealthy, yet street savvy, music executive whose teenage son is kidnapped by a mysterious man demanding millions of dollars. When the exec says, “I ain’t got it,” more unsettling events unfold.
Aubrey Joseph, A$AP Rocky, Jeffrey Wright, Ilfenesh Hadera, Dean Winters, John Douglas Thompson and Michael Potts have roles in the film alongside Washington.
Washington has won two Academy Awards, a best supporting actor Oscar for his role in Glory (1989) and a best actor Oscar for his performance in Training Day (2001).
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