“A body like Arnold with a Denzel face,” Salt n Pepa rapped in their 1993 hit “What a man.” They’re referring to actors Arnold Schwarznegger and Denzel Washington, and it turns out the latter has indeed inspired a namesake who’s gone on to become famous in his own right.
Denzel Valentine is the only other Denzel that anyone has ever heard of; that’s not a coincidence. The argument is now settled.
Washington goes on to say he’s not sure if Valentine was named after him. But in an interview with ESPN’s SportsCenter earlier this year, Valentine’s father, Carlton, revealed that Valentine was indeed named after Washington.
“Denzel Washington’s always been my favorite actor,” Carlton Valentine said. “I saw him in Glory, all of his early movies. My favorite was Mo’ Better Blues.”
The shared first name has led to some confusion over the years. Valentine has been confused with Washington on several occasions, including in press conferences and in media reports.
The article goes on to mention that Denzel Washington is in fact a fan of the former Michigan State Spartans star and national college basketball player year of the award winner. The two stars from different entertainment arenas have also met in real life according to the article.
Now all of these topics would have made for perfect discussion material at Chicago Bulls Media Day. In fact, Media Day really is the best time to do that kind of interview. Unfortunately, Denzel Valentine was not made available to the media for whatever reason. We did snap that great photo of him though at the event, and it’s the featured image of this post.
We also did this exclusive with Denzel Valentine at his introductory press conference.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.