Denzel Washington opens up about weight loss, drug and alcohol use

Denzel Washington is aging gracefully, and it’s no accident. The actor, who’s on a press tour for his latest film, shared more about his recovery journey. Although the 69-year-old Washington is a unprecedented actor, he struggles with common problems resembling weight gain. In a recent interview, the actor admitted that two years ago he was not satisfied along with his appearance and due to this fact made changes.

“I look at photos of me and Pauletta at the Oscars for Macbeth and I just look fat with all that dyed hair,” the legend said within the winter issue of Macbeth. Esquirewhere he’s the quilt star with a head stuffed with gray hair.

He continued: “I said, ‘Those days are over, man.’ To begin his journey to a more optimal weight, Washington accepted help from a friend.

“My good friend, my little brother, Lenny Kravitz, said, ‘D, I want to set you up with a coach.’ And he did, and he is another man of God. I started with him last February,” Washington said.

“He prepares meals for me and we train, and now I weigh 190 pounds and am on my way to 185.”

“I feel like I’m getting stronger,” the Golden Globe winner added. “Strong is important,” he told Esquire. “I’m doing everything I can.”

The labor paid off, because the two-time Oscar-winning actor looks leaner and more limber than ever in his latest film.

In addition to planning training and meals, Washington also talked about his past alcohol consumption throughout the interview. Washington found wine “difficult” and his addiction to it developed progressively over time.

“I used to be never hooked on heroin. I’ve never been hooked on coke. I actually have never change into hooked on hard drugs. I shot the identical way they shot, but I used to be never punished,” he said. “And I never became hooked on alcohol. I had the proper idea for wine tastings and so on – and that is the way it was to start with. And this can be a very subtle thing. I mean, I drank one of the best.

The actor shared that he also has a wine cellar in his house. “I learned to drink the best. So I’ll drink my ’61s and ’82s and everything we drank. I loved wine, and now I was pouring $4,000 bottles because that was all I had left,” Washington said.

The actor added that he would also call Gil Turner Fine Wines & Spirits on Sunset Boulevard and ask for 2 bottles of one of the best “this or that.”

When Washington’s wife of over forty years, Pauletta, asked why the actor kept ordering two bottles, he replied: “Because if I order more, I’ll drink more. “So I limited it to two bottles and drank both during the day.”

The actor made it clear that he would never drink alcohol while working or preparing for work.

“I might clean up and return to work – I could do each. Regardless of the numerous months of shooting, bang, it is time to wrap up. Then boom. Three months of wine and time to get back to work,” she said.

The actor also said within the interview that he didn’t drink while filming the 2012 series, during which he played an alcoholic pilot.

“I’m sure I did it as soon as I finished. “It was getting close to the end of drinking, but I knew a lot about waking up and looking around not knowing what had happened,” he told Esquire.

“I did a lot of damage to my body. We’ll see. I was clean.”