John David Washington had a "midlife crisis" when he turned 30

He told Radio Times magazine: "When I was 30, I had a midlife crisis. I was panicked!

"This one, when I hit 40, I was actually in the UK supporting my sister Olivia doing 'Slave Play'. I felt an ease of comfort.

"I felt good about who I am, and I understood where I needed to go to continue to evolve as a person.

"So it wasn't a crash landing like 30 was. This was more of a smooth take-off."

The COVID-19 pandemic saw the movie industry grind to a halt for several months and John admitted he feared he would never work again at one point.

Asked about the release of his movie 'Tenet' during 2020, he said: "It was kind of crazy that we put it out during those times.

"There was a lot of weird stuff going on in general.

"I was just desperate to work, as I didn't think I was ever going to work again.

"I didn't know what the world was going to look like. I'll never forget it. I'll always remember exactly where I was in 2020."

John is the son of acting legend Denzel Washington and his singer wife Pauletta, but the 'Amsterdam' actor never felt pressure to live up to their achievements as they always encouraged him to be himself.

He said: "My parents have always been supporting.

"My mom was a piano teacher at nine years old My father attended Fordham University to study acting. They had this relentless pursuit of excellence in their artistry, so that's all I knew.

"And they have both had a great influence on the kind of artist I'm trying to be.

"My parents are a huge influence in my life, so they've encouraged me to be my own man.

"And I did that by playing American football professionally.

"I earned a scholarship, I was a practice squad player for the St. Louis Rams.

"My pursuit was to be my own person and I was encouraged by those who I was raised by."