There are several ways to gauge the impact an actor has had on modern society. One could consider the number of awards they've won， for example. Perhaps you could count the number of column inches dedicated to them in the Hollywood tabloids. Hundreds of actors can claim to have really affected the world around them， but very few actually have.

衡量一個演員在現(xiàn)代社會的影響力有很多種方法。例如，可以看他們贏得的獎項，或者是在好萊塢小報上所占有的專欄數(shù)量。很多演員都宣稱自己對這個世界舉足輕重，實際上真正做到的寥寥無幾。

In 2006， the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC)， a rebel organisation holding hostages including three US defence contractors， issued a statement saying they would consider a prisoner exchange， but they would only negotiate with three people: Directors Oliver Stone and Michael Moore， and Hollywood legend Denzel Washington.

2006年，哥倫比亞革命武裝力量（FARC），一個反政府組織挾持了多名人質(zhì)，其中包括三名美國軍事承包商，他們發(fā)表公開聲明表示愿意交換人質(zhì)，但只和三個人談判：導(dǎo)演奧利佛#8226;斯通、邁克爾#8226;摩爾以及好萊塢傳奇演員丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓。

There have been very few actors over the past two decades who can claim to be as influential and respected as Washington. Sure， he's won a humungous amount of awards for his work (two Academy Awards， three nominations and at least fifty other awards)， makes millions of dollars (in 2007， his average wage was $20 million per picture)， and is incredibly attractive to the opposite sex (People magazine voted him the sexiest man alive in 1996)， but there's a quality he possesses that is more important than any of these: integrity.

在過去二十年里很少有演員像華盛頓這樣具有影響力，受到廣泛的尊敬。的確，他因杰出的影視作品獲獎無數(shù)（兩次奧斯卡、三次提名以及其它五十多次獎項），收入豐厚（2007年，他的平均片酬是2千萬美元），并吸引了成千上萬的女性（1996年入選《人物》雜志最性感先生），但是他最重要的品質(zhì)是：正直。

A devout Christian， Washington is well-known for not partaking in any of the usual shenanigans that Hollywood stars are partial to. He's been happily married to his wife， Pauletta， since 1983 and has four children， the eldest of which is a professional American footballer. He is protective of his image- in a country that seemingly prizes celebrity above all else， Washington is an example of a popular figure whose public and private lives are kept distinctly separate.

作為一個誠摯的基督徒，華盛頓以從不參加好萊塢明星所熱衷的一切消遣娛樂而聞名。1983年他和妻子幸福地步入了婚禮殿堂，并有了4個孩子，大兒子是專業(yè)美式橄欖球員。華盛頓一直維護(hù)著自己的形象——他是公私分明的良好公眾形象的典范，在一個國家中成為備受尊敬的名人。

Born in Mount Vernon， New York to a Pentecostal minister and a beautician/gospel singer， Denzel Hayes Washington， Jr. first discovered acting at University， when he starred in a production of Shakespeare's Othello. After a lacklustre time at University， he left to become a professional actor， enrolling in the American Conservatory of Theatre for a year before finding his first screen role in Carbon Copy with George Segal.

出生于美國紐約州弗農(nóng)山的一個由唱詩班歌手和美容師組成的家庭，丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓在大學(xué)里首次展露表演才能——在莎士比亞的《奧賽羅》里擔(dān)任主角。平淡無奇的大學(xué)生活結(jié)束后，他為了成為一個專業(yè)演員而前往美國國家戲劇學(xué)院學(xué)習(xí)了一年，之后他開始了第一個銀屏角色，在《黑人兒子》中飾演喬治#8226;西格爾。

After a stint as a doctor in the medical drama St. Elsewhere established his name， Washington got his first major role as Private Trip in Edward Zwick's Civil War epic Glory. Washington's inspiring performance as the bitter， passionate ex-slave earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor， and cemented him as one of the leading male actors in showbusiness.

由于在電視劇《圣#8226;艾爾西維亞》中所扮演的醫(yī)生而聲名鵲起，華盛頓出演了愛德華#8226;茲維克的史詩內(nèi)戰(zhàn)電影《光榮》——一部關(guān)于美國黑人軍隊浴血奮戰(zhàn)的歷史影片。他將黑人奴隸士兵的痛苦、熱情表現(xiàn)得淋漓盡致，這為他贏得了奧斯卡最佳男配角獎，并躋身于影視界的優(yōu)秀男演員之列。

From here on in， the only way for Washington was straight up the Hollywood ladder. With his portrayal of Malcolm X in the 1992 biopic of the Civil Rights leader， he proved that he could be as full of righteous fire as any of Martin Luther King's colleagues. As lawyer Joe Miller in Philadelphia， he showed us that he was more than capable of playing the everyman character， and in Courage Under Fire we saw him as a valiant military officer.

此后，擺在華盛頓面前的只有通向好萊塢階梯的星光大道。1992年，他在名人傳記影片《馬爾科姆X》里飾演黑人運動領(lǐng)袖，證明了他可以像馬丁#8226;路德#8226;金一樣點燃正義之火。他在《費城故事》里扮演的律師喬伊#8226;米勒告訴我們他可以勝任任何一個普通人的角色，而在《生死豪情》中大家又見到了他作為一名英勇軍官的另一面。

Although his Best Actor Oscar came for Training Day， an action movie in which he plays a corrupt cop， Washington prefers to play deep character roles rather than action heroes. He toldone magazine: \"I like talking. I like acting. Running and jumping and ducking bullets is not my idea of a good day.\"

盡管華盛頓因為在動作片《訓(xùn)練日》中所扮演的一個腐敗的警察而榮獲奧斯卡最佳男演員，但他更喜歡出演復(fù)雜的人物而非動作英雄。他告訴一家雜志：“我喜歡說話，喜歡表演。奔跑、跳躍、躲子彈不是我理想的生活狀態(tài)。”

Over the last 15 years， he has played virtually every memorable black male leading role in US cinema， specialising in proud， articulate martyrs simmering with self-righteous belief. He's portrayed great men and has done the roles justice where most would probably only have succeeded in creating clichés. In a movie world where most black actors are generally restricted to one type of role - either action movie staples like Lawrence Fishburne or Samuel L. Jackson or comedy figures like Martin Lawrence or Eddie Murphy - Denzel Washington stands alongside Morgan Freeman and Will Smith as one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood.

在過去15年里，華盛頓扮演了很多美國銀屏上令人難忘的黑人領(lǐng)袖形象，尤其是驕傲、自信的正義烈士。他塑造了很多偉人，并賦予了這些走老套路線的角色以正義的形象。在電影世界里大多黑人演員都局限于一種角色——像動作演員勞倫斯#8226;費舍伯恩和塞繆爾#8226;杰克遜以及喜劇明星馬丁#8226;勞倫斯和艾迪#8226;摩非，但丹澤爾#8226;華盛頓卻與摩根#8226;弗里曼、威爾#8226;史密斯一起成為好萊塢最多才多藝的演員之一。