(LifeSiteNews) — Hollywood superstar Denzel Washington has said that he would tell his younger self to “pray more” and “get on your knees more.”

During an interview with Extra TV in the context of his latest movie, Highest 2 Lowest, Washington was asked what advice he would give to his younger self.

“Pray more. That’s it. Pray more,” Washington said. “That’s what I would tell that younger Denzel Washington. Pray more. Get on your knees more.”

The Hollywood actor has been outspoken about his Christian faith for years. However, he was baptized only last year at the Kelly Temple Church of God in Christ in Harlem, New York City. The church is part of the historically African American Pentecostal Holiness denomination. He also obtained a minister’s license from the Church of God in Christ.

READ: Denzel Washington: “I Read the Bible Every Day”

“It took a while, but I’m finally here,” Washington said during the ceremony, according to Archbishop Christopher Bryant.

“If [God] can do this for me, there’s nothing He can’t do for you. The sky literally is the limit.”

In an essay for Esquire last year, Washington recalled a life-changing conversion experience at the Pentecostal West Angeles church in Los Angeles. He said it was “the biggest moment of my life” when “I was filled with the Holy Spirit.”

“Things I said about God when I was a little boy, just reciting them in church along with everybody else, I know now,” he wrote. “God is real. God is love. God is the only way. God is the true way. God blesses. It’s my job to lift God up, to give Him praise, to make sure that anyone and everyone I speak to the rest of my life understands that He is responsible for me. When you see me, you see the best I could do with what I’ve been given by my lord and savior.”

He also noted that being outspoken about one’s Christian faith is often frowned upon by his colleagues in the entertainment business.

Politically, Washington has remained neutral in his public statements in recent years, refusing to endorse a candidate in 2020 and 2024.

In a 2024 interview with the Times, Washington said: “We’re all slaves to information now … whatever you feel about the leaders … you’d better realize you’re being manipulated by both sides.”

The Hollywood star has stressed the importance of a robust and loving family and the important role that fathers play in making sure children do not get on the wrong track. When he was asked about the high incarceration rates of black Americans, he said: “It starts in the house, it starts in the home.”

He has repeatedly said not to “blame the system” but rather to focus on keeping the family together, stressing the importance of having a father in the home. Washington has been married to his wife for 43 years and the couple has four children.

He starred in many Hollywood blockbuster movies, including Training Day (2001), Glory (1989), Malcolm X (1992), Fences (2016), Flight (2012), and American Gangster (2007).