Denzel Washington
Denzel Jermaine Washington, Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American film actor and occasional director and stage actor.
Biography
Early life
Washington was born in Mount Vernon, New York to African-American parents; he has an older sister, Lorice, and a younger brother. Although his father, Dillwyn, Virginia-born Reverend Denzel Washington, was an ordained Pentecostal minister, he worked for the Water Department and at a local department store, "S. Klein". His mother, Lennis, a beauty parlor owner, was born in Georgia and raised in Harlem. Washington was banned from watching movies by his parents, who divorced when he was fourteen. He subsequently went through a rebellious stage, at the end of which several of his friends were sentenced to prison. His mother's reaction to his behavioral problems was to send him to preparatory school, and later on he was sent to Fordham University, where he discovered acting and earned a degree in journalism.
Early career
Washington's first film role was in the 1975 made-for-television movie, Wilma. His big break came when he starred in the popular television hospital drama, St. Elsewhere. He was one of a few actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run. In 1987, after appearing in several minor theatrical films and stage roles, Washington starred as South African anti-apartheid campaigner Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom, a role for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1989, Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a defiant, self-possessed slave in the film Glory. He was a lot better than Morgan Freeman in this film
Career: 1990s
Washington played one of his most critically acclaimed roles in 1992's Malcolm X, directed by Spike Lee. His performance as the Black Nationalist leader earned him an Oscar nomination. Both the influential film critic Roger Ebert and the highly-acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese called the movie one of the ten best films made during the 1990s.
Malcolm X transformed Washington's career, turning him, practically overnight, into one of Hollywood's most respected actors. He turned down several similar roles, such as an offer to play Martin Luther King, Jr., because he wanted to avoid being typecast. The next year, in 1993, he took another risk in his career by playing Joe Miller, the homophobic lawyer of a man with AIDS in the movie Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks, although it was a big risk for Hanks to play the lawyer with AIDS, critics agreed it was also a risk for Washington to play the homophobic Miller. During the early and mid 1990s, Washington became a renowned Hollywood leading man, starring in several successful thrillers, including The Pelican Brief and Crimson Tide, as well comedies (Much Ado About Nothing) and romantic dramas (The Preacher's Wife).
While filming the 1995 film, Virtuosity, Washington refused to kiss his white female co-star, Kelly Lynch, during a romantic scene between their characters. During an interview, Lynch stated that while she wanted to, "[Denzel] felt very strongly about it. I felt there is no problem with interracial romance. But Denzel felt strongly that the white males, who were the target audience of this movie, would not want to see him kiss a white woman." Lynch further stated, "That's a shame. I feel badly about it. I keep thinking that the world's changed, but it hasn't changed quick enough".[1] A similar situation also occurred during the filming of The Pelican Brief when Julia Roberts expressed in an interview her desire to have her character in the film engaged in a romantic relationship with Washington's character. However, in 1998, Washington starred in a scene of a sexual nature with caucasian actress Milla Jovovich, in Spike Lee's He Got Game.
In 1999, Washington starred in The Hurricane, a movie about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after he had spent almost 20 years in prison. Various newspaper articles have suggested that the controversy over the film’s accuracy may have cost Washington an Oscar for which he was nominated. Washington did receive a Golden Globe Award in 2000 and a 'Silberner Bär' (Silver Berlin Bear) at the Berlin International Film Festival for the role.
Career: 2000s
In 2000, Washington appeared in the crowd-pleasing Disney film, Remember the Titans, which grossed over $100 million at the United States box office. He was nominated and won an Oscar for his next film, the 2001 cop thriller, Training Day, which was considered a change of pace for Washington, as he played a villainous character after many roles as a heroic lead. After appearing in 2002's box office success, the Health care-themed John Q., Washington directed his first film, a well-reviewed drama called Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred.
Between 2003 and 2004, Washington appeared in a series of thrillers that performed generally well at the box office, including Out of Time, Man on Fire and The Manchurian Candidate [2]. His film, Inside Man, a Spike Lee-directed bank heist thriller co-starring Jodie Foster and Clive Owen, opened on March 24, 2006. He is currently in New Orleans for the filming of the upcoming film Deja Vu.
Private life
In 1983, Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson (now Pauletta Washington), who he met on the set of his first screen role, Wilma. The couple has four children: John David (b. 1983), who signed a football contract with the St. Louis Rams in May 2006 after playing college ball at Morehouse [2]; Katia (b. 1987), Olivia (b. 1991) and Malcolm (b. 1991) (named after Malcolm X). In 1995, the couple renewed their wedding vows in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating.
One of Washington's hands is deformed from a childhood accident.
In 2006, Washington denied rumors that he has had an affair.[3]
Selected filmography
Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
2007 | American Gangster | Unknown | |
2006 | Deja Vu | Doug Carlin | |
2006 | Inside Man | Keith Frazier | |
2004 | The Manchurian Candidate | Ben Marco | |
2004 | Man on Fire | John Creasy | |
2003 | Out of Time | Matthias Lee Whitlock | |
2002 | Antwone Fisher | Dr. Jerome Davenport | also as director |
2002 | John Q | John Quincy Archibald | |
2001 | Training Day | Detective Alonzo Harris | Academy Award, Best Actor |
2000 | Remember the Titans | Coach Herman Boone | |
1999 | The Hurricane | Rubin "Hurricane" Carter | |
1999 | The Bone Collector | Lincoln Rhyme | |
1998 | The Siege | Anthony 'Hub' Hubbard | |
1998 | He Got Game | Jake Shuttlesworth | |
1998 | Fallen | Det. John Hobbes | |
1996 | The Preacher's Wife | Dudley | |
1996 | Courage Under Fire | Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling | |
1995 | Devil in a Blue Dress | Easy Rawlins | |
1995 | Virtuosity | Lt. Parker Barnes | |
1995 | Crimson Tide | Lt. Commander Ron Hunter | |
1993 | Philadelphia | Joe Miller | |
1993 | The Pelican Brief | Gray Grantham | |
1993 | Much Ado About Nothing | Don Pedro of Aragon | |
1992 | Malcolm X | Malcolm X | |
1992 | Mississippi Masala | Demetrius Williams | |
1991 | Ricochet | Nick Styles | |
1990 | Mo' Better Blues | Bleek Gilliam | |
1990 | Heart Condition | Napoleon Stone | |
1989 | Glory | Pvt. Trip | Academy Award, Best Supporting Actor |
1989 | For Queen and Country | Reuben James | |
1989 | The Mighty Quinn | Xavier Quinn | |
1987 | Cry Freedom | Steve Biko | |
1984 | A Soldier's Story | Pfc. Peterson | |
1981 | Carbon Copy | Roger Porter |
Academy Awards and nominations
- 1987 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Cry Freedom
- 1989 - Won - Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Glory
- 1992 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Malcolm X
- 1999 - Nominated - Best Actor in a Leading Role - The Hurricane
- 2001 - Won - Best Actor in a Leading Role - Training Day
Trivia
- Denzel Washington has garnered much critical acclaim for his portrayals of several individuals who actually existed, including Steve Biko (Cry Freedom), Malcolm X (Malcolm X), Rubin "Hurricane" Carter (The Hurricane), and Herman Boone (Remember the Titans). Also noteworthy are his portrayals of Trip (Glory) and Dr. Jerome Davenport (Antwone Fisher), who were inspired by real people.
- At the age of nine, Denzel Washington's son John David Washington made a cameo appearance in the film Malcolm X as a student in a Harlem classroom. On May 1, 2006, John (age 22) signed with the St. Louis Rams of the NFL as an undrafted rookie free agent.
- His Name Is An Ongoing Use In the hit animated sitcom Proud Family
- His Name Is Shouted Out While Lizzie and Her Mom Are throwing pots in an episode of Lizzie McGuire
- It is rumoured that he is in talks with peter jackson in new zealand to discuss his possible involvement in the upcoming movie based on the video game Halo. Although this hasn't been confirmed. many beieve him to play Sgt Johnson.
External links
Interviews
- Cinema Confidential interview (July 29, 2004)
- ING Films interview (July 28, 2004)
- IGN Films interview (April 22, 2004)
- UGO Films interview (April, 2004)
- Deal Memo interview (February 15, 2002)
- Univercity interview (February, 2002)
- IO film interview (December, 1999)
Web sites
Notes
- 1954 births
- African-American actors
- African-American/Black film directors
- American dramatic actors
- American film actors
- American film directors
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- Best Actor Oscar
- Best Actor Oscar Nominee
- Best Supporting Actor Oscar
- Best Supporting Actor Oscar Nominee
- Boys & Girls Club alumni
- Living people
- Pentecostals
- People from New York