Denzel Washington - University of Pennsylvania"},"lengthSeconds":"1363","ownerProfileUrl":"http://ww

please join me in welcoming Denzel Washington, thank you, thank you very much, obviously I'm the most disorganized, everyone else has nice boxes to display their script, I just have all my stuff here, I put it inside a magazine, like this Indeed. I don't even have it in the right order, wait a minute, let me put it in the right order here, so if it starts flying around the stage, you know, run and grab it and bring it back here for me. I will move forward as I can President Gutmann Provost Price Chairman of the Board Cohen fellow honorees beautiful honorees and today's graduates I am honored and grateful for today's invitation.

It's always been great to be on Penn's campus. I've been here before many times for basketball games my son played in Palestra he played on the basketball team Yes that's right I played on the basketball team the coach didn't give me enough playing time we'll talk about that later no, I'm very happy, I'm very happy with the progress that Coach Allen has made and no, I do, I am, I really am and I hope to have the greatest success in the future and you know I always get a warm welcome when I come to Pennsylvania, when I come to Philly, except for the few times I wear my Yankee cap I can't suddenly switch and wear a Philly cap, I mean, and I mean, it's like taking your life in your hands around here when you were a Yankee cap.

I tell you. a couple of guys and they said, hey, we love you Denzel, but you know you're walking around with that hat on, we don't care who you are, so be glad to see I'm not wearing my Yankees cap today. I'm wearing my Yankee socks, my Yankee t-shirt, my ninja shorts and yaki underwear, my Yankee toe warmers, but it's not my Yankee cap, but I'll still be honest with you. I'm a little bit nervous. I'm not. I used to speak at a graduation of this magnitude it's a little overwhelming it's out of my comfort zone now they dressed me in a military uniform or threw me on top of a moving train someone said unstoppable or asked me to play Malcolm X Rubin hurricane Carter or Alonzo On training day I can do that, but a graduation speech is a very serious business and it's a very different ball game, there are literally thousands and thousands of people here and for those who say well, you're a movie star it means that the people look at you and Look, you talk all the time, well that's Trek, technically true, but I'm not actually in the theater watching them looking at me, I guess that makes sense, I mean, I'm not there when they ask me to move or take out your iPhones or texting your boyfriend or scratching your butt or whatever you're doing at the movies, but from here I can see each of you and it makes me uncomfortable, so please don't take out your iPhone nor his text messages.

Don't text your boyfriend until he's done, please, if you have to scratch him from behind. I mean, I understand moving on. I was thinking about this speech, what should I say. I thought the best way to keep your attention would be to talk. about something you actually know, like juicy Hollywood stuff, like I thought I could talk about Russell Crowe and I arguing on a set of American Gangster or but I said you're a bunch of altruistic intellectuals now and you're not interested. on that yeah, oh maybe no, I thought about a private moment I had backstage with Angelina Jolie in a dressing room after the Oscars, but I said no, I don't think so, this is an Ivy League school and I mean a half-naked Angelina Jolie in a dressing room who wants to hear about it nobody nobody nobody nobody this is Penn those things would never go well here maybe a Drexel but not here.

Now I'm in trouble, so I'm back to square one. the pressure, so now you're probably thinking if it was going to be that hard, this is the pressure, why did I accept today's invitation in the first place? Well, you know, my son goes here, that's the number one reason, it's a good reason and I always like it. to see how my money is being spent and I'm sure there are some parents who can relate to what I'm talking about yeah um everyone up and there were other good reasons for me to show up sure I got an Academy.

Award, but I never ate something called a magic meatball after standing in line for half an hour at the pool truck, yeah, yeah, I talked face to face with President Obama, but I never talked face to face with a guy called a tweeter who sings songs bad about that. smokes on tuesday night. I have never been to Buies. I've never been to the shows. Yes. I have played a detective who fights demons. But I have never in my life been to a school where the squirrel population has gone crazy. I mean, they're breaking into it. dorms are walking around campus I think I saw some of them carrying books on the way to class, so I had to be here.

I had to come even though I was afraid of making a fool of myself, in fact, if you really want to know. The truth is that I had to come exactly because I had to come exactly because I could make a fool of myself. You know what I'm talking about here is that I discovered that nothing in life is worth it unless you take risks. Nothing Nelson Mandela said there is no Passion is found in play. small and settling for a life that is less than what you are capable of living now. I'm sure about your experiences in school and applying to college, choosing your major, and deciding what you want to do with life.

I'm sure people told you to make sure you have something to fall back on, honey, but I never understood that concept of having something to fall back on if I'm going to fall, I don't understand it. I want to turn to anything but my faith. I want to fall forward. I figure at least this way I'll see what I'm going to hit. This is what I mean. Reggie Jackson struck out more than 2,600 times in his career. in the history of baseball but you don't hear about strikeouts people remember home runs fall forward Thomas Edison performed 1,000 failed experiments did you know that I didn't know because the 1,000 and first was the light bulb that falls forward in each failed experiment ?

You're one step closer to success, you have to take risks and I'm sure you've probably heard that before, but I want to talk to you about why that's important. I have three reasons and you can get your iPhone first. you will fail at some point in your life accept it you will lose you will be embarrassed you will be a disaster at something there is no doubt about it and I know that is probably not a traditional message for a graduation ceremony, but I am telling you, embrace it because it is inevitable and I must know that In the acting business you fail all the time early in my career.

I auditioned for a role in a Broadway musical, I thought it was the perfect role for me except for the fact that I can't sing so I'm in the wings I'm about to go on stage but the guy in front of me is singing like Pavarotti, it goes on and on and on and I'm shrinking, I'm getting smaller and smaller, so they say, oh, thank you. Thank you very much, thank you very much and you will hear from us, so I took out my little sheet of music and it was just my imagination because of the temptations, that's what I came up with, so I gave it to the person accompanying us and she looks at it and looks at me and The director looks and said okay, so I start, you know, I'm going to sing, and they don't say anything, so I'm thinking.

I'm getting better, I'm starting to get into this, this is over, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you very much, mr. Washington, thanks, so I figured I didn't get the job, but the next part of the audition he called me. The next part of the audition is the acting part of the audition, so I was like, "Hey, okay, maybe I can't sing." but I know I can act so they paired me with this guy and again I didn't know about musical theater and musical theater is big so they could get everyone to the back of the stadium and I'm more of a Kind of realistic, naturalistic acting where you know you're actually talking to the person next to you, so I don't know what my line was.

My line will deliver the cut to me and his line was fine. I will hand you the cup, dear. The cup would be there to be handed to you while I say, okay, should I give the cup back to you? Oh yeah, you should give it back to me because you know it's my mug and I should give it back to me. I didn't receive it. the job, but this is what I didn't quit, I didn't back down, I got out of there to prepare for the next audition and the next audition and the next audition I prayed and prayed and prayed but I kept failing and failing and I failed but it didn't matter because you know what There's an old saying, you spend enough time at the barbershop, sooner or later you're going to get a haircut, so you'll take a break and I took a break last year.

I did a play called Fences on Broadway, someone talked about it, it won the Tony Award and, by the way, I didn't have to sing, but here's the kicker: it was at the Court Theatre, it was in the same theater where I failed that first one. audition 30 years before the The point is that I will speed up the pace. The point is that every graduate here today has the training and talent to succeed, but do you have the guts to fail? This is my second point about failure. If you don't fail, you're not even one. trying it I'll say it again if you don't fail you're not even trying my wife told me this great expression to get something you never had you have to do something you never did Les Brown is a motivational speaker you made an analogy about this he says imagine that You are on your deathbed and standing around your deathbed are the ghosts that represent your unfulfilled potential the ghost of ideas that you never acted on the ghosts of talents that you did not use and they are standing around your bed angry disappointed and upset They say we came to you because you could have brought us to life they say and now we have to go to the grave together so I ask you today how many ghosts will be around your bed when your time comes, go away In the west, you have invested a lot in your education and people have invested in you and let me tell you, the world needs your talents and does it ever.

I just got back from Africa like two days ago, so if I'm rambling it's because I'm Jet Li. I just returned from the beautiful country of South Africa but there are places there with terrible Parvat poverty that need help when Africa is just the tip of the iceberg. The Middle East needs your help. Japan needs your help. Alabama needs your help. Tennessee needs. your help Louisiana needs your help Philadelphia needs your help the world the world needs a lot and we need it from you, we really need it from you young people. I mean, I don't speak for the rest of us up here, but I know.

I'm getting a little grayer, we needed you, the young people, to remember this, so you have to go out, you have to give everything you have, whether it's your time, your talent, your prayers or your treasures, because remember this . You will never see a truck behind a hearse. I'll say it again. You will never see a truck behind a hearse. You can't take it with you. The Egyptians tried and everything they got was stolen, so the question is: what are they? they are going to do with what they have I'm not talking about how much they have some of you are business specialists some of you are theologians nurses sociologists some of you have money some of you have patients some of you have kindness some of you have I loved it, some Of you have the gift of suffering, whatever it is, whatever your gift is, what are you going to do with what you have now?

This is my last point about failure, sometimes it is the best way to find out where you are going. Your life will never be a straight path. I started at Fordham University as a medical student. I took a course called Cardiac Morpho. I still can't see it. Cardiac morphogenesis. I couldn't read it. I couldn't say it. I sure couldn't pass it, so I decided to study Law and then Journalism and, without an academic focus, my grades took off in their own direction. Yes, I got a 1.8 GPA one semester and the University very politely suggested it might be. better take some time off I was twenty years old I was at my lowest point and then one day I remember the exact day March 27, 1975 I was helping my mother in her beauty salon my mother owned the beauty salon in my Vernon and there was an older woman who was considered one of the oldest in the town and I didn't know her personally, but I looked in the mirror and every time I looked I could see her behind me and she was looking at me.

To me, she kept looking at me every time I looked at him, she kept giving me these weird looks, so she finally took the dryer off her head and said something, she said something I'll never forget, first of all, she said someone give me a piece of paper give me a piece of paper she said young man I have a prophecy a spiritual prophecy she said you are going to travel the world and talk to millions of people now notice I am 20 years old I am suspended in fact, like a know-it-all, I am thinking to myself that Maybe she has something in that crystal ball about me going back to school next fall, but maybe she had something on her mind because later that summer, while working as a YMCA camp counselor in Connecticut, I organized a talent show for the campers and after the show another counselor approached meand he asked me if you ever thought about acting.

You're good at it, so when I returned to Fordham that fall I came in and changed majors once. again for the last time and in the years that follow, just as that woman prophesied, I have traveled the world and spoken to millions of people through my films, millions of people who until today could not see me until the day of I couldn't see today while I was talking to them and they couldn't see me they could only see the movie they couldn't see the real me but I see you today and I I am encouraged by what I see and I am strengthened by what I see and I love what I see.

One more page. Now shut up, let me conclude with this last point. In fact, the president mentioned that he has something to do with the movie Philadelphia. she stole my material many years ago. I made this movie called Philadelphia. We filmed some of the scenes here on campus. Philadelphia premiered in 1993. Most of you are probably still in diapers. Some of the teachers too, but that made me laugh, but it was a good rental movie what's it called Netflix is ​​a good rental movie. I get 23 cents every time you rent it please parents rent rent rent Netflix please tell your friends too that it's about a man played by Tom Hanks who was fired from his law firm.

Because he has AIDS, he wants to sue the firm, but no one is willing to represent him until the homophobic ambulance-chasing lawyer played by yours truly takes on the case in a way that if you watch the movie you'll see everything I'm all about. speaking today. You'll see what I mean by taking risks or being willing to fail because taking risks is not just about looking for a job, it's also about knowing what you know and what you don't know, it's about being open to people and ideas in As the film progresses, the character I play begins to take small steps, small risks, he very, very slowly begins to overcome his fears and I feel that in the end his heart is flooded with love and I can't think of a better message than the one I gave them. we send.

Go out today not only to take risks but also to be open to life to accept new points of view and to be open to new opinions to be willing to speak from the beginning at one of the best universities in the country even though you are very scared. Well, it may be scary, it will also be rewarding because the opportunities you take, the people you meet, the people you love, the faith you have, that's what will define you, so members of the class of 2011, this is your mission when you leave the friendly. The confines of Philadelphia never give up, never stop, give it all you've got and when you fall throughout life and maybe even tonight, after a few glasses of champagne, remember this fall, go ahead, congratulations, I love you, God bless you, I respect you.