CineTV Contest #17 : MY FAVORITE ACTOR - Denzel Washington

This week, CineTV has another classic topic for our consideration. In it's Contest #17, we're given the chance to showcase our favorite actor. Exciting to say the least, as I'll have to lay bare my heart and announce to the old-time actors I grew up with, that Denzel is my all-time favorite.

Denzel Washington is an American film actor, born in 1954, who started his career early before his teen years. Who would have known that this career would span four decades. He's one of the elite actors that we only have to mention his first name.

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You know, a director can guide you along the path he wants your role to take.

However, it's up to the actor to grab that character, embrace it, and bring to the screen his unique interpretation.

You can just feel it when an actor is immersed in a character.

I've tried to analyze exactly what draws me to Denzel's acting. I feel it's his charisma.

But make no mistake, once he goes into action, his quiet personality is threatening. Not so much a loud voice, but the manner in which he's delivering his warnings.

For his counterparts that don't take him seriously in the film, an especially brutal demise is waiting.

There's something about his demeanor; his walk; his speech; and of course, that award-winning demur smile that just carries you away until you're still thinking about it once the scene is over.

The attraction is also his calmness under duress that has impressed me throughout his acting career. His onscreen low-key temperature mirrors his off screen personality.

Off screen, Denzel is an humble human being that deeply cares about the world in which we live.

I first became aware of Denzel's acting in the early 80s. At a time when few African American actors landed successful roles in television, Denzel was chosen to play a part in the medical drama, St. Elsewhere. As a physician, Dr. Philip Chandler, he was young with a captivating smile. It was his first major breakthrough in acting.

In the 1990s was the era that Denzel shined. Can you imagine giving an award winning performance from his at-home hospital bed. He directed a complete investigation as a victim of an on-the-job accident while a cop in an attempt to save children. The incident left him paralyzed.

What impressed me was his portrayal, in The Bone Collector of a bedridden former officer who seemed helpless at first. How he handled portraying a personal with intricate literary knowledge, in particular comics. It was this knowledge that solved a vicious serial killer's crime spree.

This amazing acting ability didn't end there as he portrayed MALCOLM X. Superb was his acting, you could believe he was the iconic man himself.

However, it was his movie FLIGHT, in which he played an alcoholic airline pilot, that settled in my mind his greatness as an actor. I was part of a family group that arranged a movie outing to view this film. You could hear a pin drop in the theater. All family enjoyed and were mesmerized by his performance.