Denzel Washington Tells Story Of Meeting Young Drake

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Denzel Washington‘s long been a supporter of the Boys & Girls Club, but now one person he’s influenced has become a star of their own.

The actor was on Good Morning America last week to celebrate the non-profit organization’s 5,000th location when he spoke on the ability to change someone’s course of life.

Despite only meeting with kids for brief conversations, it could be all they need to change their trajectory– and the 68-year-old had a very specific example of a youngster he spoke to by the name of Drake.

“You just never know who you touch,” Washington said. “I met a kid in Toronto who came up and was fascinated because I was like this star, and he wanted to talk to me, and he couldn’t believe that he met me. Well, 10 or 15 years later, he came up and he said, ‘You don’t remember when you met me.’ I said, ‘No.’ His name is Drake. And he said what I said to him, he never forgot.”

Washington remembers being a part of the Boys & Girls Club as a child and how it helped him gain valuable life skills.

“I was that 6-year-old kid that was nervous,” he said. “What am I now? I’m still that 6-year-old, wide-eyed kid who’s curious about life. I was being taught about grace, about winning with grace and losing with grace, and being a leader and all of these things.”

Drake’s fanboy moment shouldn’t be too surprising since in 2017, he did get a tattoo of Washington’s face to add to his growing makeshift mural of ink paying homage to Sade, Aaliyah, Lil Wayne and long-time producer and friend Noah “40” Shebib.

The Denzel tat –done by Toronto-based artist Inal Bersekov— depicts the actor during his role in the Spike Lee 1990s-produced classic Mo’ Better Blues while holding a trumpet.