Denzel Washington and working on set

Denzel Washington has said he abstained from alcohol while working or preparing for a role, then could return to drinking outside work. He also did not drink while filming *Flight* (2012), in which he played a pilot with alcohol dependence. In an Esquire interview, he described this as his way of maintaining a work routine and discipline; saying he did it specifically to stay focused is a broader interpretation. Washington said he stopped drinking about ten years ago, in 2014.