Los Angeles Lakers superstar small forward LeBron James says actor Denzel Washington was a big role model for him growing up as a kid in Akron, Ohio.
James' father walked out on him and his mother, so LeBron didn't have a father figure to look up to who was close to him. The four-time MVP stayed away from the gang and drug world, and used Denzel Washington and other successful African Americans as inspiration to become something great in life, which he eventually did.
Washington met with the Lakers on Wednesday as part of the “Genius Series.” LeBron James says it was great to have Denzel around and opened up to reporters on Thursday what the actor meant to him as a kid.
“I grew up watching these guys,” James said. “I grew up admiring these guys, admiring their craft, wanting to be like certain characters they portrayed either in TV shows or movies or in standup. So, that's what it all boils down to. I appreciate those guys and thank them more than they know.
“They had no idea that they were inspiring a kid from Akron, Ohio, and these guys are in Los Angeles shooting movies and TV shows or they're on tour doing skits and things of that nature. So, that's what it boils down to. And where I grew up, the only real inspirations are really, like, drug dealers. Those are the only inspirations that you have where I grew up. And thank God I was able to be inspired by people that were doing it the right way and not the wrong way.”
Thank goodness LeBron James stayed away from the drug and gang world because otherwise we would have been robbed of his basketball greatness. It looks like James has borrowed some acting techniques from Washington as well. LeBron did a good job in the film “Trainwreck” and is planning on being in a lot of upcoming films.
Follow Us
Subscribe