As part of the press tour for his new collaboration with Spike Lee, the film Highest 2 Lowest, Denzel Washington went on Jimmy Kimmel and shared some surprising news.
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His name is not pronounced Den-zel, the way we all say it!
It’s actually pronounced “Denzill.”
The origins of the pronunciation, and how it transformed into the current, common pronunciation, are fascinating.
Washington went onto explain, “I’m Denzel, Jr. My father’s Denzel Hayes Washington, Sr. I’m Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. My mother would say “Denzil!” and we’d both show up. So she said, ‘from now on, you‘re ‘Den-Zel.'”
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Proof that there’s nothing more powerful than a mom.
Watch the clip here:
