Since his breakthrough in the 1980s, Denzel Washington has established himself as one of the biggest movie stars in the world. But despite being one of Hollywood’s biggest box office draws, the actor can’t play with the idea of ​​life-sized figures. He stresses that he is first and foremost a human being whose job it is to act.

In addition, at a meeting with other industry veterans, the actor also criticized the general perception of his profession and described the art form as a privilege compared to other working-class professions.

Denzel Washington clarifies the perception of filmmaking

At a gathering with other major filmmakers from the entertainment industry (via THR), Denzel Washington spoke about the everyday struggles people endure to make a living. The Oscar winner, who worked as a garbage collector in his 20s, stressed that working on films is a gift and dismissed comparisons to other tough jobs.

While Washington made it clear that he was not trying to downplay the effort involved in producing films, he was reluctant to accept the idea that the challenges involved were comparable to those in other difficult areas of society.

People say, ‘Oh, how difficult it is to make a film.’ I say, ‘Send your son to Iraq, that’s difficult.’ It’s just a film… relax. I’m not playing this silly nonsense – you know, your son got shot in the face, that’s difficult. Making a film is a luxury, it’s a gift, it’s an opportunity and above all it’s a gift.

This is not the first time the actor has addressed this topic. Back in 2013, when he was asked about the challenge of starring in his action comedy, 2 pistolhe talked about his experiences as a garbage man. He told Larry King: “There is nothing we do in films that is difficult” compared it to working as a garbage man, as he remembered working on the back of a truck for 22 blocks.

Denzel Washington didn’t hate his time as a garbage man

Looking back on his time in garbage collection, Denzel Washington said that despite the difficulties involved, he enjoyed working as a garbage collector compared to his time at the post office.

While the former was more physical in nature, The equalizer Star found it better than the latter because he could finish it within 3 hours, unlike his job at the post office which would take 8 hours.

(As) a garbage man, you have eight hours of work, but you manage to do it in three. So you can go straight home when you’re done. At the post office, you have three hours of work and you manage to do eight of them. I’ve done both, I liked being a garbage man better.

In addition to his outstanding performance as an actor, Washington’s modesty, which apparently arose from his early days as a worker, is another reason why he remains popular with the people.