On this day 60 years ago, Denzel Washington spent hours in a standoff inside his mother's womb. An entire staff of doctors had him surrounded, but he was unrelenting in his demands. Young Denzel screamed, "I'll come out on three conditions: I want to age like I have the restoration crew from the Sistine Chapel. I want a voice so smooth Colombian rebels will want me to negotiate a real life hostage situation. And I want to make a career out of kicking ass on camera."

That's the true story of how one of the biggest badasses in film history was born. We've been lucky enough to watch Washington bend the will of weaker characters for 30 years. We've seen him play a drug kingpin, civil rights icon, Navy hero, crooked cop, hostage negotiator, football coach, assassin, a boxer, and more. It's like he's allergic to playing characters who don't engage in high-stakes conflicts. To celebrate the man's birthday today, we're breaking down Denzel Washington's 10 Most Badass Roles