He really is a class act..
Oprah: When did you know you wanted to act?
Denzel: When I was doing Othello in college. Everyone was coming out of the woodwork to see the show. I was so green, I would look right out at the audience just to see who was there! But I was like, "Wow—all these people showed up. Maybe I'm good at this." So I had a drive to perfect the craft.
Oprah: I can only imagine how many parts must come your way now.
Denzel: I'm one of the few—whatever you call it, A-listers—who's still available for parts right now because I've been busy directing this film all year rather than reading scripts and signing contracts. \
Oprah: You said "A-listers" under your breath.
Denzel: Titles have nothing to do with me. That's not who I am. It's like the term "movie star": What does that mean? It's just a label they give you until they replace it with another one: "has-been." I don't claim either.
Oprah: If you're not a movie star, then who is?
Denzel: First, I'm a human being. I love my work, but acting is what I do; it's not my identity. I love the way Julia Roberts put it: "I'm just an ordinary person who has an extraordinary job."
Oprah: Didn't you ever fantasize about being a movie star?
Denzel: Not so much, because my background is in theater, and in the 1970s, I didn't see anyone I wanted to be like; other than Sidney Poitier, there weren't many African-American film stars. As a kid, I'd wanted to be a football player. Then, after I got into theater at age 20, I saw James Earl Jones do Oedipus the King at St. John the Divine on 112th Street in Manhattan, and I was like, Wow. I sneaked into his dressing room and looked at his props and his rings while he was meeting people. I thought, "One day I'll make $650 a week and work on Broadway." It was never my master plan to go to Hollywood.
Oprah: Now that you've had all this success, how do you feel about it?
Denzel: I ask, What am I going to do with what I have? I can't take anything with me. You know the saying: You never see a U-Haul behind a hearse.
The rest.