We’re used to seeing Denzel Washington with a smile or a cool stare. His voice low and quiet, or thunderous, delivering some of the most iconic lines of last 25 years. In honor of Denzel’s new film, Safe House, we put together his most memorable lines from projects like Malcolm X and Training Day. This is not a final list, no. We want you to suggest clips and tell us what your favorite Denzel moments are. Until then, enjoy.

Denzel Washington’s Most Memorable Lines

“You been had, you been took, you been hoodwinked, bamboozled, led astray, run amok.”

In his most epic role, Washington plays the late civil rights leader Malcolm X. In the above snippet Washington is finishing a speech while wrapped up in righteous indignation, feeding the crowd in a scene that perfectly captures the moment (the 1960s) and the anger that existed within those who were cut off from the full expanse of what this nation was and is supposed to be.

 “In the nuclear world, the true enemy is war itself.”

Some of Washington’s best work has come when he had an able actor to work alongside him. Someone to stand toe to toe with, trading lines like volleys on a tennis court. In Crimson Tide, a tense, claustrophobic thriller, Washington and Gene Hackman go back and forth for control of a nuclear sub. In the line above we hear Washington, quiet but confident in his philosophy while telling truth to power.

“Hate put me in prison. Love’s gonna bust me out.”

Good performances can live in bad films, Washington’s performance in The Hurricane proves just that. Re-uniting with Norman Jewison, who had originally cast the actor in Malcolm X before Spike Lee took over the film, Washington ages decades while telling the story of the wrongfully convicted boxer Ruben Carter and how he got free from prison. Somewhat fictionalized and thick with moments that tried to pull a bit too hard at the heart string, the above line may be the worst, yet most memorable line from the film.

“It’s not what you know, it’s what you can prove”

Washington played a bit of a cartoon villain in Training Day, his chest perpetually puffed out, his stride full of swagger. A man vibrant and overjoyed by the fact that he ruled over the streets, a dirty cop, perhaps one of the dirtiest cops in cinema history, gaming the system. In the above scene Washington is explaining one of the essential truths of our legal system while training his young, wet behind the ears partner.

“I am not gonna bury my son, my son is gonna bury me!”

Another film that is far from good aside from Washington’s performance. John Q centers on a blue collar father (John Quincy Archibald) whose son falls ill while playing baseball. Once taken to the hospital Archibald finds out that his son needs life saving heart surgery, surgery that his health insurance won’t cover and that he (Archibald) can’t afford. The film goes on to skewer the healthcare industry while Washington’s character takes over the hospital in a desperate attempt to get his son a new heart. The above scene occurs at the height of that desperation as Washington refuses to give up.

“King Kong aint got shit on me”

We end with what may be the most well known Denzel Washington line. Every great villain is promised a memorable sneer, a perfect line, or an explosive demise. Washington got all three in Training Day and moments before he met an end reminiscent of another great, seemingly un-killable criminal beast, Sonny Corleone, Washington took to the screen while snarling and screaming about his own invincibility and the scope of his power. One last desperate attempt to keep those under-foot, under-foot.