One of Denzel Washington’s most iconic roles is his spot-on portrayal of Malcolm X in the biopic directed by Spike Lee in 1992. His son reveals he would channel Malcolm X to inspire kids while he was playing tackle football in the seventh grade.
In an interview with Esquire, John revealed Denzel coached his games. He would sometimes give a powerful speech that sounded too familiar. John would say to his dad, “This is from the ‘Malcolm X’ speech, right?”

“It was like a scene straight out of ‘He Got Game,’ in which his dad played the father of a star basketball prospect,” Kate Storey from Esquire reports.
RELATED: North Carolina Police Raid Black Woman's Home After White Neighbor Complained About Her Playing Malcolm X Speeches
He also said he felt the pressure when he starred in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman in 2018. During the first table read in Spike Lee’s office, there was a movie poster of his father from 1990’s Mo’ Better Blues hovering over him.

John David explained, “That’s when it hit me: ‘OK, if I mess this up, my career is basically over’ … The pressure hit for a moment, for those two hours, and then I was back. I was OK after.”
John certainly stepped up. He earned a  Golden Globe nomination for his performance in BlacKkKlansman.
Go back down memory lane and check out Denzel Washington’s iconic speech from Malcolm X in the speech below: