Denzel Washington baptised a week before his 70th birthday
Denzel Washington has been baptised and received a minister’s licence just days before his 70th birthday.
The Gladiator 2 and Training Day star will celebrate the milestone on Saturday (December 28), and to mark the occasion he has been baptised at the Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ in Harlem, New York.
Taking place at a ceremony on Sunday (December 22), the double Oscar winner was also presented with a minister’s licence, which means he will be eligible to be ordained as a priest in the future.
The event was live-streamed on the church’s Facebook page and saw Washington speak about the importance of his faith.
“In one week I turn 70. It took a while but I’m here,” he said to the congregation. “If [God] can do this for me, there’s nothing He can’t do for you. The sky literally is the limit.”
The actor’s wife of over 40 years Pauletta also spoke at the ceremony. “46 years later, here I’m still standing next to him as only God will have it,” she said. “So I’m very proud of you. You are the head of our house and you have set a great example for our children, who are now adult children who know the difference because we have shown them the difference.”
Washington is currently the subject of awards chatter thanks to his supporting turn in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2, in which he plays the duplicitous former slave Marcus Opellius Macrinus who attempts to scheme his way into political power.
He also inadvertently revealed last month that Black Panther 3 is in development, with an unspecified role being set aside for Washington himself. The second film in the series, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, was released in 2022, two years after lead actor Chadwick Boseman’s untimely death.
Washington will also star in Spike Lee’s upcoming film Highest 2 Lowest, alongside A$AP Rocky and Ice Spice.
The post Denzel Washington baptised a week before his 70th birthday appeared first on NME.
Max Pilley
NME
