Denzel Washington Saved From Drugs by His Mother  12/15/06

Denzel Washington rescued himself from a life of crime and drug-taking when he realized his bad behavior was hurting his mother.

The Oscar-winning star was heavily involved with drug-taking street gangs in his youth, and admits he did "everything in his power to end his life" as a teenager.

But his mothers pleas eventually hit home and he turned his life around.

Washington, 51, says, "While others were getting on with their lives, I was doing everything in my power to shorten mine.

"Like a lot of teenagers, I started to experiment with drugs. Everyone was getting strung out on heroin. My experience wasn't unique.

"My mother would say, 'Don't do this, don't do that.' But I was at the age where it was like, 'Those are the very things I want to do right now.

"In those situations, everyone gets a tap on the shoulder at some point. My thing was that I didn't get caught and I started to listen when I realized my mother really cared about me."