Denzel Washington turns 70 later this week, but the Gladiator II star managed to squeeze in one more life milestone before the big day. On Saturday, the Oscar-winning actor was baptized at a New York City church in a ceremony that was livestreamed on Facebook. Dressed humbly in a gray T-shirt and black sweats, Washington was joined at the Kelly Temple Church of God in Harlem by his wife, Pauletta, who got emotional talking about her husband's "spiritual journey," per People.
"I'm very proud of you," she told her emotional husband, per Page Six. "You are the head of our house, and you have set a great example for our children, who are now adult children who know the difference because we have shown them the difference." According to Archbishop Christopher Bryant, Washington noted, "It took a while, but I'm finally here. … If [God] can do this for me, there's nothing He can't do for you. The sky literally is the limit."
Washington is also said to have been presented with a minister's license, which will allow for him to be ordained in the future. People notes that Washington's baptism comes after an Esquire interview published last month in which he said it was "not fashionable" and "not sexy" to be a God-fearing actor in Hollywood. "I'm unafraid. I don't care what anyone thinks," he said. "See, talking about the fear part of it—you can't talk like that and win Oscars. You can't talk like that and party. You can't say that in this town. I'm free now." (More Denzel Washington stories.)
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