He won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1989's "Glory," and he picked up the Best Actor trophy for the 2001 film "Training Day."
Does he remember Denzel the actor from that time making "Glory"?
"I'm not a look-back guy. I haven't seen 'Glory' since I made the movie," says Washington. "The only movies I've seen more than once was when I started directing and I knew I had to direct myself in a movie so I started looking at 'John Q' and 'Training Day' just to get used to looking at myself. But I'm a forward thinker."
And a determined one. Washington says there is still much more to accomplish.
"It's what I do and I'm at a place in life where I'm trying to get better at it," says Washington. "People have been saying, 'Hey, you're pretty good at it now.' I won a Tony Award a couple of years ago and now I'm nominated for an Oscar, and I'm just trying to get better at what I do."
What's the next big chance he'll take?
"In the next three years I'll be going back to Broadway and directing a movie," says Washington.
With Oscar Sunday just days away, play the My Picks game to choose who you think will win in each award category.
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Get the full list of 2013 Oscar nominees
The Oscars will air live on ABC7 on Feb. 24.
Oscar Sunday lineup:
- 1:30 p.m.: On The Red Carpet at The Oscars
- 4 p.m.: The Oscars Red Carpet Live
- 5:30 p.m.: The Oscars
- 8:30 p.m.: On The Red Carpet at The Oscars
- 10 p.m.: Jimmy Kimmel Live
- 11 p.m.: Eyewitness News
