Denzel Washington: "Ease Is a Greater Threat to Progress Than Hardship"

At Saturday night's NAACP Image Awards in LA, Denzel Washington took home a best actor award for his moving performance in Fences. When he got up to accept the award, he gave an inspiring speech about working hard to achieve greatness. "If it were easy," he said, "there'd be no Denzel Washington." He also schooled his peers, saying, "fall down seven times, get up eight," and that "ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship." Washington has been having an especially memorable award season. At the SAG Awards in January, he won his very first Actor, and the pure shock on his face was one of the best moments of the night. The end of his NAACP speech perhaps puts it best: "keep moving, keep growing, keep learning. See you at work."