Denzel Washington reveals the true pronunciation of his name while on a recent promotional tour. With a career dating back to the late ’70s, Washington remains one of Hollywood’s most well known and respected actors, appearing regularly in movies across a variety of genres.

In recent years, Washington appeared in projects like The Equalizer franchise, Gladiator 2 (2024), and Tragedy of MacBeth (2021). His most recent project is Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, which had a limited theatrical release in August and is now poised to land on Apple TV+.

While promoting Highest 2 Lowest‘s streaming bow, Washington stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live, dropping the reveal that his first name is actually pronounced differently than most people think. After Kimmel mentioned that there are four NFL players with the first name Denzel, Washington explains that his name should be said without the stress on the last syllable. Check out his explanation below:

“This is how you know they named themselves after me, because my name’s not pronounced Den-zel, it’s pronounced Denzel (Denzihl). I’m Denzel Jr. My father’s Denzel Hayes Washington Sr. My mother would say Denzel, and we’d both show up. She said, ‘From now on, you’re Den-zel.””

Watch the video below to hear Washington pronounce it himself, with the relevant section beginning at 7:37:

What This Means For Denzel Washington

From the sound of things, Washington doesn’t actually mind the mispronunciation, as it originated with his own mother for the sake of practicality. It could mean, though, that audiences start to hear the correct pronunciation more often in interviews, depending on how far this Kimmel clip travels.

Something similar happened with Emma Stone last year. The Poor Things (2023) and La La Land (2016) actor revealed in an interview with THR that her real name is Emily, and that she ended up going by Emma because someone in SAG already had the name Emily Stone. Stone was subsequently seen beaming after being called Emily during a Cannes Film Festival press conference.

Stone, though, is likely still going to be widely referred to as Emma, and Washington’s name will likely continue to be pronounced wrong. At a certain point, a movie star’s public persona takes on a life of its own, and retraining an entire population of moviegoers and journalists is no easy feat.

Regardless of the pronunciation of his name, Washington is poised to remain a powerful presence in Hollywood for years to come. He let slip last year that he could collaborate with Ryan Coogler on the upcoming Black Panther 3, and that’s in addition to an announced Equalizer 4 and 5, among other projects.

Our Take On Denzel Washington’s Name Pronunciation

It will be interesting to see whether the Denzihl pronunciation of Washington’s first name catches on in interviews and press conferences. Maybe, as happened with Stone, a video will go semi-viral of Washington reacting to a correct pronunciation. When in doubt, though, calling him Mr. Washington seems like a safe bet. He is a Hollywood legend, after all.