Somewhere between the realms of endearment and erroneousness is this commentary about one of Hollywood’s greatest living actors: “Denzel Washington is the same person in all of his movies.”
I certainly understand the sentiment. His wide, toothy grin endures whether he is an equalizer or corrupt cop. He is a force of nature, whether he’s a man on fire or displaying the heart of a hurricane.
It is a great injustice to suggest that Washington is the same man in every movie as a fault, because over a career that spans nearly a half century, familiarity has not bred contempt.
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Among other reasons, this is why I have truly enjoyed Washington’s – no, the Washingtons’ – press tour to promote two new projects, Gladiator II and The Piano Lesson.
In Gladiator II, a big-budget action sequel to the 2000 film, Washington plays the crafty Macrinus in ancient Rome and, as usual, steals the show. In The Piano Lesson, a film adaptation of August Wilson’s 1987 play, was produced by Washington and his daughter, Katia, directed by his son Malcolm, and stars his eldest child, John David and daughter, Olivia, also has a role. The Washingtons’ collective talents were on full display.
What we’ve seen in the lead-up to these films are the many layers of Washington, the proud patriarch, doting husband and even a “therapist” of sorts. In a four-minute video, appropriately titled “DENZEL GIVES THE BEST ADVICE EVER! Gladiator II,” the legend offers this three-part guide to life to presenter Zainab Jiwa. “First part of your life, you learn. Second part of your life, you earn. Third part of your life, you return.”
“Can you be my therapist?” Jiwa asks, both starstruck and joyous.
“I already am,” Washington replies.
For all of the talk about being the actor who is the greatest of all time and what “retirement” might look like (which Washington has warned is coming after he completes a few more films), this appears to be the greatest incarnation of Washington. He is abundantly comfortable, switching instantaneously between serious and silly, as evidenced by an exchange between him, and fellow actors David Oyelowo, Derek Luke and Michael Ealy when he commandeers a reporter’s mic and interviews them. We mention terms such as “Black excellence” to the point of nausea and elitism, and yet, what’s better than seeing this everyman, his wife and children on press row? A tree is known by the fruit it bears.
Pauletta Washington (left) and Denzel Washington (right) attend the Los Angeles premiere of Paramount Pictures’ Gladiator II at TCL Chinese Theatre on Nov. 18 in Hollywood, California.
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images
The synergy starts with Pauletta Washington, whom her husband and children love to bring to the forefront, despite her best efforts to deflect the limelight.
“As we were coming over in the car, I told my husband, ‘This is for them,’ ” she said at the premiere of The Piano Lesson. “And – ”
“And for Mom! For all the work she’s done,” Washington interjected. “To raising them, instilling those values and everything that you see and hear.”
The synergy is evident in their work. Washington, of course, made his name in director Spike Lee’s films as Malcolm X (Malcolm X), Bleek Gilliam (Mo’ Better Blues), and Jake Shuttlesworth (He Got Game). John David Washington starred as Ron Stallworth in Lee’s 2018 film BlacKkKlansman. What stands out to me from that time is John David Washington’s swift correction of broadcaster Craig Melvin in a Today interview where he describes him as “the son of Denzel Washington.”
“And Pauletta Washington,” he added, before running off her bona fides, including that she was the one who paid for dinner during her first date with his father. “My father taught me how to hunt,” he told Melvin. “My mother taught me how to love.”
Close your eyes, and John David Washington’s voice sounds like his father’s. Open your eyes, and you see the trademark family grin, as caring as it is carnivorous. The range to hunt and the range to love.
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Perhaps that’s why Wilson’s estate entrusted the late playwright’s works with Washington. In 2015, the Oscar winner announced that he would produce all 10 of Wilson’s Century Cycle plays. It reinforces how the Washington name transcends celebrity. It represents hard work, and attention to detail, regardless of profession. First, there was Fences, released in 2016, which starred Washington and Viola Davis. Eight years later, John David Washington and Danielle Deadwyler are starring in The Piano Lesson. In between was Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom in 2020, with Davis and Washington’s cinematic son, Chadwick Boseman. “There is no Black Panther without Denzel Washington,” Boseman famously said when Washington received a lifetime achievement award from the American Film Institute in 2019.
Boseman’s praise feels particularly chilling now, though the irony is important when thinking of Washington. Rarely do we get a chance to celebrate greatness in its prime, let alone in its twilight. Just a few months ago in September, actor James Earl Jones and his iconic voice left us, preceded a year ago by the death of civil rights activist and singer Harry Belafonte in April 2023. Singer and musician Frankie Beverly finished up a farewell tour in July and died in September.
There is something exceedingly beautiful about giving someone their flowers while they can smell them – and watching that same person plant seeds for the next generation. With Washington’s repeated proclamations to young actors, imploring them to “act on the stage,” he is decidedly old-school. And yet, he remains relevant, because his work makes way for what’s up next.
I watched him in Gladiator II last weekend in all of his glory, with his silver beard and regal robes. I watched him reprise the vulnerability of his portrayal of a father in John Q, channeled with the cunning and corruption of Alonzo Harris in Training Day. Finally, I was reminded of a phrase that defined the legacy of Gladiator II’s chief protagonist, but could have just as easily been attributed to Washington and his visible and vibrant legacy: “What we do in life echoes in eternity.”
For the Washingtons, those reverberations are taking place in the present.
Ken J. Makin is a freelance writer and the host of the Makin’ A Difference podcast. Before and after commentating, he’s thinking about his wife and his sons.
