Denzel Washington is one of the most beloved actors in Hollywood who is respected by just about everyone. But, the seasoned star has strict rules when it involves his personal space.
A clip from the “Safe House” actor’s previous interview has resurfaced online after a Twitter user decided to use him as a meme.
On Thursday, June 1, a two-second clip of Washington appeared online showing him as he blocked an enthusiastic fan’s hand after she touched his face. When she tried to grab his neck, Washington then grabbed her arm.
“Y’all let any h– touch you,” read another tweet that was attached to the video which has now attained over 4.7 million views.
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Another user shared an extended version of their interaction which took place at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival at the Arlington Theatre in 2017. The now-68-year-old was set to be honored at the event for his remarkable work in film.
While there, Washington was speaking with “Extra” TV host Terri Seymour, where he acknowledged an entourage of his fans cheering his name just a few feet behind him.
The two-time Oscar winner noticed an unfamiliar face sneaking up beside him. After side-eyeing the figure he told his interviewer, “Sneaking up on me. I got that eye, right?”
“Are you just a fan?” He asked a woman off-camera. “Just coming in, just — she just walking in.”
Before Washington and Seymour knew it, a random woman crashed his interview. Though the three of them began laughing after her abrupt entrance, the unknown woman seemed to cross a line after touching Washington’s face.
The acting veteran’s instincts quickly took over for he not only dodged her touch but also grabbed her arm and removed it from touching him.
“All right, darling, all right darling,” Washington said.
Seymour, who was caught in the middle, asked him, “Where’s all of your security? People can get too close, I’m nervous.”
Once the woman left the scene, Seymour said that the actor was “too nice” for allowing a fan to get so close to him.
“That’s what the problem is,” she said, “Denzel is far too nice.”
Yet Washington disagreed with her comment, stating, “I ain’t all that nice. You saw ‘Training Day.’”
“Training Day” is one of Washington’s most popular films and one of his most notable roles.
In the 2001 crime film, he plays Alonzo Harris, and actor Ethan Hawke plays Jake Hoyt. As a veteran of the LAPD, Alonzo takes Jake on a day-long ride-along in gang-ridden neighborhoods to test the younger cop’s instincts.
Throughout the film, Alonzo is exposed as a crooked cop and the main antagonist. In the end he meets his fate after he was murdered by the Russian mobsters he was secretly working with.
This movie created the iconic phrase, “King Kong ain’t got s–t on me,” which was said by Alonzo after he was outsmarted by Jake and the local gang members who caught on to his games.
For this role, Washington earned the Oscar for best actor during the 74th Academy Awards in 2002. He was the first African-American actor to win the feat since Sidney Poiteri’s 1963 role in “Lillies of the Field.”
