{"id":16569,"date":"2021-02-12T12:33:26","date_gmt":"2021-02-12T17:33:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=16569"},"modified":"2021-02-12T12:33:26","modified_gmt":"2021-02-12T17:33:26","slug":"denzel-washington-opens-up-about-new-film-and-becoming-more-outspoken-about-his-christian-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2021\/02\/denzel-washington-opens-up-about-new-film-and-becoming-more-outspoken-about-his-christian-faith.html","title":{"rendered":"Denzel Washington Opens Up About New Film and Becoming More Outspoken About His Christian Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Photo Works\/Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Academy-Award winning actor stars in the new crime thriller, The Little Things<\/em>. Washington plays Joe \u201cDeke\u201d Deacon, a sheriff\u2019s deputy in Kern County, California, embroiled in a murder case during a routine evidence pickup.<\/p>\n

Washington told the Financial Times<\/em> that one of the reasons he was drawn to the script is because \u201cit was a really interesting story I hadn\u2019t seen before, with a scarred, cynical and guarded character I had not played before. If Deke ever had any faith, he lost it, but he goes on a spiritual journey, through the sort of hell only a cop would understand\u201d<\/p>\n

Washington teams up with Jim Baxter, played by Rami Malek, a detective who sets out to nab a serial killer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I read a script, I don\u2019t think o fit from the outside in terms of genre. I just ask myself: \u2018Is it a good read? Which Little Things certainly is,\u201d Washington said. \u201cIt was a real page-turner, it was exciting because I was like: \u2018Oh, well, it\u2019s not what you think. It\u2019s like, wait a minute, who is the good guy and who\u2019s the bad guy here?\u2019 I don\u2019t even want to use the word \u2018thriller,\u2019 that\u2019s putting it in a small box. The Little Things is bigger than that, and that\u2019s what\u2019s original about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As many fans know, Washington is a devout Christian who is unapologetic about his faith. He grew up in the church and knew from an early age that he would play an important role in sharing the Gospel of Jesus worldwide.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m doing what God told me to do from the beginning,\u201d Washington said. \u201cIt was prophesied that I would travel the world and speak to millions of people\u2026I thought it would be through my work, and it has been.\u201d<\/p>\n

At this stage in his life, Washington is clear that he has a God-given given mission, which is to utilize his talents to the best of his ability and take advantage of every opportunity to be about God\u2019s business, he told the Financial Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m happy about my career, but I don\u2019t rely on my work for my happiness, and my strength doesn\u2019t come from the accolades I get,\u201d Washington said. \u201cI see myself as a man who\u2019s trying to help, part of the solution and not part of the problem\u2026.to hopefully make this a better world, even in small ways. I can, just through my work, take people\u2019s minds off of their troubles for a while. I always remember what my mother told me years ago: \u2018Man gets the award, God gives the reward.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the reasons Washington was drawn to Deke is because of his interest in spiritual development. At 66, Washington is on top of his acting game, but family, faith, and purpose are most important.<\/p>\n

One of the three most important missions in his life is to reflect his devout Christian beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cTring to be closer and closer to God, that\u2019s my ultimate mission,\u201d Washington said. \u201cI had to grow and come to a place where I no longer cared what people thought about that. For a time, I was more concerned about who I might offend, or if I say that, I might lose some fans. But now I\u2019m unafraid, and I don\u2019t care, whatever the consequences, I\u2019ll live with them for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Academy-Award winning actor stars in the new crime thriller, The Little Things. Washington plays Joe \u201cDeke\u201d Deacon, a sheriff\u2019s deputy in Kern County, California, embroiled in a murder case during a routine evidence pickup. Washington told the Financial Times that one of the reasons he was drawn to the script is because \u201cit was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":565,"featured_media":15576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1310,3291,1352,4728,1085,4731,3710,4734],"class_list":["post-16569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television","tag-denzel-washington","tag-christian-celebrities","tag-christian-faith","tag-devout-faith","tag-faith","tag-little-things","tag-successful-christian-celebrities","tag-the-little-things"],"yoast_head":"\nDenzel Washington Opens Up About New Film and Becoming More Outspoken About His Christian Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2021\/02\/denzel-washington-opens-up-about-new-film-and-becoming-more-outspoken-about-his-christian-faith.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Denzel Washington Opens Up About New Film and Becoming More Outspoken About His Christian Faith\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Academy-Award winning actor stars in the new crime thriller, The Little Things. Washington plays Joe \u201cDeke\u201d Deacon, a sheriff\u2019s deputy in Kern County, California, embroiled in a murder case during a routine evidence pickup. 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