Denzel Washington Reveals His Reason For Not Having Hollywood Friends

There's no doubt the entertainment industry has made or marred friendships and relationships over the years. Plus, the endless opportunities it has given entertainers to network with high-profile people are second to none.

Friendships have sprouted from businesses, and many people have gotten jobs by just being in the right place or knowing the right people at the right time.

However, it's no shocker that this could breed ground for "forced familiarity." Some entertainers make it a point to mingle with prominent and high-profile people in the industry to have their pictures published by the paparazzi as frequently as possible.

Yet, while celebrities can develop as many relationships as they want in Hollywood, some performers avoid famous buddies altogether. This famous "Broadway" actor, Denzel Washington, doesn't include actors in his social circle. Why? Keep reading to find out.

Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. was born on December 28th, 1954, in New York. He attended Pennington Grimes Elementary school for a while before his mum sent him to Oakland Military School.

This made him grateful to his mum because he believed he would've turned out the wrong way with the bad company of friends he kept at that time. The American actor, producer, and director has been regarded as an actor who "reconfigured the concept of classic movie stardom."

He has worked with Spike Lee, Antoine Fuqua, and Tony Scott on numerous occasions. He also established himself as a lead actor in a variety of films throughout the 1990s.

This includes Spike Lee's historical film epic "Malcolm X" (1992), Kenneth Branagh's Shakespeare adaptation "Much Ado About Nothing," and others.

He has two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Tony Award, among many others to his name. He was also named the finest actor of the twenty-first century by The New York Times in 2020.

In an interview with Xan Brooks, Washington bluntly stated that he didn't have any actor pals, even within the industry. He said, "My friends are people I've known for a long time. One is a former musician, the other is a restaurant entrepreneur, and the third is a former professional baseball player."

When questioned as to why he didn't have many friends among his coworkers, Washington said, "I don't make friends because I'm a loner! Maybe I'm not a buttkisser. I'm not going to a party with the hopes of landing a job.

...When you have children, your other pals become your children's parents. My wife and I came from a good family. I don't want to be buddies with Hollywood stars. And, as an African-American, there were no huge movie stars to hang out with when I first started; I never befriended any white actors for whatever reason."

Yikes! Maybe he's just really protecting his space. Hollywood drama can be overwhelming.

It's easy to understand his reasons for keeping his social life low-profile. But is it entirely possible that Washington didn't find anyone exciting beyond business?

One of Washington's representatives revealed there was omitted information from his interview with The Guardian. In the rep's words, "The bit they left out was that after he claimed 'never befriended any white actors,' he added 'except,' and then mentioned some names. This included Tom Hanks, Mel Gibson, Julia Roberts, and others."

Washington had also made friends with Omari Hardwick, whom he and his wife assisted at one point.

In addition, Will Smith said in GQ that he turned to Washington for friendly assistance when he was going through a career crisis. It looks like Washington did fancy some of his colleagues after all.

Washington is sometimes at odds with his celebrity status. He and his wife highlighted his struggles in coming to terms with his situation in an old interview with Oprah.

Washington once claimed, "I never wanted to be famous. "I aspired to be the best at what I do."

During an interview with Express, he revealed he had no idea where Hollywood was and described it as the place with the "stars." In another interview with The Guardian, Washington echoed the same comments and claimed he solely saw himself as an actor.

"I'm a working actor. What exactly is a celebrity?" He cited Paris Hilton as a celebrity example and regarded himself as a hardworking actor again.

His distance from fame made it challenging for him to make friends in the industry in the past. Although he confessed that not making celebrity friends was "intentional," as he preferred to keep his social circle quiet.