Denzel Washington Gives Excellent Advice During Boys & Girls Club Visit

On August 1 Denzel Washington took a break from filming his upcoming film, “ Magnificent Seven,” to visit the Boy & Girls Club of Baton Rouge where he reportedly shared advice to more than two dozen members.

During the 30-minute talk lecture, the Academy Award-winner discussed some of his life lessons growing up in Mount Vernon, N.Y. and the moment he realized that his performance as an actor wasn’t about being the best.

“You don’t have to be number one. You gotta be the best you that you can be,” he said. “When I started off as an actor I said, ‘I wanna be the best actor in the world.’ Well, I won the Oscar – twice for what they considered to be best actor at the time – but I learned by that time it wasn’t about being the best actor in the world, it was about being the best that I could be. I want you all to be the best that you can be at whatever it is you choose to be.”

Washington, who became a member of the Boys & Girls club at age 6, went to become the program’s national spokesman in 1992 and has served on the organization’s national Board of Governors since 1995.

Check out more of Denzel Washington’s inspirational Boys & Girls Club lecture in the clip above.

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