The actor wanted to make his name in the industry not by relying on his father's identity but through his own talent and hard work.
Being the child of a famous personality or celebrity is not an easy job. We often forget that they're just like our kids. Young, wild, and clueless. The only difference is the circumstances they're born into. Early on a lot of pressure is put on the shoulders of these kids, expecting them to be as good as their famous parent but nobody stops to think twice about how they feel about it.
Stepping into the field where their parents aced could be just a phone call away for them, but coming out of their shadow and being a star in their own right in the same industry is hard. There are people whom they meet along their journey of making a name for themselves, who really help them achieve their goal but there are others who try to take advantage of their popularity, or rather, their parent's popularity.
Not long back Elvis Presley's grandson, Benjamin Keough, had confessed to a close member that it was a "curse" to be born in the Presley family. Well, some go along with the flow until they are recognized in the industry by their name, others take a different path. Like lying about their parents. It's true, ask actor Denzel Washington's son!
John David Washington, 36, is the son of Hollywood's legendary actor Denzel Washington, who's given superhits like Glory (1989), Remember The Titans (2000), American Gangster (2007), Philadelphia (1993), The Hurricane (1999), Training Day (2001) and many more. So, obviously, he's faced all those problems that celebrity kids go through but John David figured a way out. He lied about his father.
Denzel's fans have known that he and his wife Pauletta Washington have been married to each other for 37 years and they have four kids. John David has had a fair share of spotlight himself. In a recent conversation with Mr. Porter, he revealed that his father and his successful reign in Hollywood influenced him to become an actor. Even before he was 10-years-old, watching his father on the TV and the numerous characters he played, he knew he wanted to be an actor, reported Independent UK.
So, to earn his own genuine acting career he used to keep the truth hidden from casting directors. "I used to lie, saying he was a construction worker or in jail, just to have some sense of normalcy," he told Mr. Porter. It's understandable because his real identity would either pave a way for him which would be unfair to the others or too much would be expected from him being the son of a great actor.
The Tenet lead actor revealed that he had experienced the change in the behavior of people once he disclosed the truth. "I felt like there was no way people would take me seriously, even if I was good," he revealed.
The actor was also worried about the judgment he would receive on the revelation. He explained, "They would always judge me. So I hid who my father was. I guess I was protecting myself," as per Insider. It's safe to say that his plan worked quite well because now with a number of well-known and acclaimed TV and film performances, he has made a name for himself in the industry. He's no more under the popular shadow of his father but the one landing interesting roles because of his talent and hard work. Working in a Christopher Nolan film as the lead is a big thing!
He earned a Golden Globes nomination in 2019 for the leading performance in Blackkklansman, a critically-acclaimed Spike Lee film. Denzel has collaborated with Spike Lee four times himself. Even though the actor wanted to be like his father, he turned to NFL as his first career choice as a running back. But the stint at NFL came to a halt when he endures a serious Achilles Heel injury.
His highly-anticipated film, Tenet, is set to release in the UK and in the international territories on August 26, followed by the US release on September 3, reported the NY Daily News.
John David wants his legacy to be like that of Robert De Niro and a few others. He said, "Hopefully, my work will speak for itself, like the early De Niros and Leonardo DiCaprios. Their work speaks for itself. That's how I'd like to live." Rest assured John David, it will turn out how you dream it to be.
References:
https://www.mrporter.com/en-gb/journal/fashion/tenet-actor-john-david-washington-interview-
https://www.insider.com/john-david-washington-used-to-say-father-denzel-in-jail-2020-8
