Denzel Washington at the Academy Awards in 2022 (left), and in 2024. Photo:

Mike Coppola/Getty; Samir Hussein/WireImage

Former Sexiest Man Alive Denzel Washington says he made a decision to get fit after being unhappy with the way he looked at the Academy Awards two years ago.

“I was looking at pictures of myself and [wife of more than 40 years,] Pauletta at the Academy Awards for Macbeth, and I’m just looking fat, with this dyed hair,” the Gladiator II star says in the Winter issue of Esquire, where he graces the cover — with his natural gray hair.

The ceremony was a ground-breaking night for Washington, who extended his reign as the most-nominated Black actor, but as the Equalizer star told the publication, “I said, ‘Those days are over, man,’ “ after seeing how he looked at the event.

Denzel Washington with wife Pauletta Washington at the 2022 Academy Awards.

P. Lehman/Future Publishing via Getty

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So Washington — who turns 70 next month — decided to make a change with a little help from a pal.

“My good friend, my little brother, Lenny Kravitz, said, ‘D, I wanna hook you up with a trainer.’ And he did, and he’s another man of God. I started with him February of last year,” Washington shared of his fitness journey.

“He makes the meals for me and we’re training, and I’m now 190-something pounds on my way to 185,” Washington shared.

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Denzel Washington on the winter cover of ‘Esquire.’.

Norman Jean Roy

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The actor, who shows off his biceps playing the manipulative, power-hungry Roman emperor Macrinus in Gladiator II, said these days, “I feel like I’m getting strong.”

“Strong is important,” he told Esquire. “I’m doing the best I can.”