The Hollywood Reporter recently conducted an actor’s roundtable with a number of high profile actors — including Denzel Washington. During the multi-topic discussion, Denzel revealed the very candid advice he gave to his daughter Olivia about age and race as she follows his acting footsteps.
The Oscar winner admits that he told his daughter, currently a student at NYU, how she needs to be “a triple/quadruple threat” given the limitations of Hollywood for actresses of color.
THR: But for a woman over 40 …
Washington: I tell my daughter — she’s at NYU — I say: "You’re black, you’re a woman, and you’re dark-skinned at that. So you have to be a triple/quadruple threat." I said: "You gotta learn how to act. You gotta learn how to dance, sing, move onstage." That’s the only place, in my humble opinion, you really learn how to act. I said: "Look at Viola Davis. That’s who you want to be. Forget about the little pretty girls; if you’re relying on that, when you hit 40, you’re out the door. You better have some chops."
–– Michael Arceneaux
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