Denzel Washington: American Icon (2024) Movie Script
- You know, that's the thing I'm proud of,
most proud of about this film,
is that it made young people, Black and White,
and other colors too,
think about their history in this country,
and what has happened, how they've been mis-educated,
and to go and learn things for themselves.
I'm real proud of that fact.
[gentle music]
- [Narrator] Not too far from New York City
lies the integrated middle
class suburb of Mount Vernon.
There, on December 28th, 1954, a star was born.
[gentle music]
His name, Denzel Washington Jr.
- Who is Denzel Washington?
Denzel Washington is the
leading actor of the 21st century,
according to the New York Times,
leading Hollywood actor of the 21st century.
- [Reporter] If you could choose your future,
where do you see yourself being in 20 years,
and what kind of work do you think
you'll have accomplished by then?
- Oh, 20 years from now,
I think I would like to see myself making films,
[gentle music]
as a director, possibly as a producer, possibly,
but having more control over the product
that I'm involved with.
You heard it here live, I should stick with acting.
News at 11.
- [Narrator] He was born into a hardworking
and religious family.
His father worked two jobs during the week,
leaving hours before the kids woke up
and returning after they were asleep,
all to ensure that his children were raised
in a financially secure environment.
On Sundays, he was a Pentecostal minister
who preached to his church with a passionate flare.
Denzel's mother, Lennis, worked as a beautician
and owned several beauty shops.
She was a strict but loving mother
who sang in the church choir.
Denzel was the second of three children,
and they were all raised with church and hard work
at the forefront of their lives,
so much so that his father only allowed the kids
to see movies with biblical themes.
- My father was a minister in the church.
I grew up in the church.
We weren't allowed to go to the movies.
We saw "King of Kings," "10 Commandments."
[gentle music]
That might've been about it.
So I didn't grow up really watching westerns.
We had a television show in America, Bonanza.
I got to see that, but I never went to the movies.
- He always said that his
parents were sort of mismatched,
that his mother was a woman of a city
and his father was a man of the country,
who was much more innocent than she was.
I think what they had in common
was they were both very religious.
So his father was a Pentecostal minister,
and his mother was religious as well.
And he grew up going to church every Sunday,
at least every Sunday,
and has carried through his religious belief
throughout his life.
And I think it accounts for
some of his moral sense as an actor,
and his sense that in most of the films he plays,
he plays someone who is on the side of good.
And he said that this was his career goal,
to play characters who brought
something good to the world.
- [Narrator] But when you grow up
just a few streets from the Bronx,
a place where only a few kids went to college
and many more ended up in trouble,
there's only so much sheltering a parent can do.
[gentle music]
Denzel's father was rarely around
to give his son a pat on the
back after a successful game,
as he was usually too busy at work, or at his church.
In order to create a safe haven while they worked,
the Washingtons sent six-year-old Denzel
and his brother, David,
to the Boys and Girls Club after school.
The Boys and Girls Club became
Denzel's home away from home.
There, he was encouraged to play sports
and enjoy the company of other children.
By the time he was 11,
to keep out of mischief and
to help the family's finances,
Denzel joined the workforce with part-time jobs
at neighborhood beauty and barbershops.
Ironic, as Denzel claimed
to rarely have had his hair
cut professionally as a child.
But as Denzel entered his teens,
his strong family foundation started to crumble
with the news of his parents separating.
His father moved to Virginia,
although he continued to stay in touch with his son.
Denzel remained with his mother in New York,
strengthening their tight bond.
But the loss of his father left Denzel confused,
and he began showing signs that he might join
the bad boys of the neighborhood
that his parents tried so hard to keep him away from.
He rebelled violently,
and began getting into fights at school.
Concerned for his future,
Denzel's mother sent him away
to the Oakland Academy Boarding School
to straighten him out.
It was a prep school
made up of mostly rich White kids in upstate New York.
- He ended up attending a military school,
which was quite a different environment, I think,
from how a lot of actors spend their early years,
but also I think probably helped instill
this real discipline within him
that we see throughout his career as an actor.
- [Narrator] Denzel was mediocre at academics,
but excelled at sports.
He was a talented athlete with great coordination,
and dreamed of becoming a famous sports star.
But many of his friends thought he'd probably
grow up to be a comedian.
He was known to be a prankster,
fool around and bring joy to his peers,
a trait which he held onto as he aged.
But underneath his funny facade
was a kid who was actually shy and self-conscious
about a gap in his front teeth.
During his boarding school years,
Denzel returned each summer to Mount Vernon
to work at the Boys and Girls Club,
doing for the kids what was once done for him.
[upbeat music]
In 1972, he enrolled at
Fordham University in the Bronx.
He tried pre-med courses to please his mother,
who wanted him to be a doctor,
but he couldn't handle the curriculum
and switched to journalism.
But that also failed to ignite his passion.
Finally, he found his true purpose
when he took part in a theater production
while working at a YMCA summer camp.
Denzel returned to college
that year with a new purpose,
to be the best actor in the world.
(rousing music)
He devoted himself to learning his new craft,
and decided to transfer to
Fordham's theater arts wing
in Manhattan in his senior year.
In his senior year, Denzel landed the lead
in a Fordham production of "Othello."
His performance proved he had enormous talent,
and this was to be the role to change his life.
- Denzel's career began at Fordham University,
where initially he wasn't studying acting.
He had got in with the intention
of doing something completely different.
And he ended up taking some classes
and becoming involved in the drama department,
and developing this real
passion and interest for it.
And he decided to change his degree.
And from then on, it was kind of off to the races for him.
I think that once he had decided
that was something that he wanted to pursue,
he really took to it in a very strong manner.
- [Narrator] He was quickly noticed by several agents,
and was eventually signed
to play the role of the husband
to Olympic gold medalist, Wilma Rudolph,
in the 1977 television movie "Wilma."
- No, I never wanted to go out with no other girls.
[dramatic music]
Not steady.
- That's okay.
You know why?
- No.
- 'Cause I think we're something special.
- [Narrator] This was Denzel's
first professional break.
Denzel landed the role
while he was still a senior at Fordham.
And it was during the filming of "Wilma"
that a pretty young actress caught his eye on set
and the pair quickly became friends.
Her name, Pauletta Pearson.
She had a small part in the production,
but would go on to have an
enormous part in Denzel's life.
Denzel graduated with a double degree
in journalism and drama,
and managed to get into the prestigious
American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
But after only a year,
he left to test his luck in Hollywood.
He arrived with just $30 in his pocket,
and moved in with some
relatives while he looked for work.
The Urban League found him a job as an acting teacher
at a small private school,
but what he really wanted was to perform.
Denzel returned home to New
York where money was meager,
but work was abundant in Black theater companies.
Soon after, he began dating Pauletta,
the woman he met while filming "Wilma."
Pauletta Pearson was an accomplished pianist,
singer, and actress,
and within a year, they shared
an apartment in Mount Vernon.
Pauletta encouraged Denzel in his acting pursuits,
and he drew a tremendous deal of strength from her.
[soft music]
After a successful string of roles,
Denzel hit a six month dry spell.
This meant no work and no money.
Acting may have fed his soul,
but his stomach and the bills
weren't so well replenished.
By 1979, he had enjoyed a brief taste of success.
He was living in his hometown, Mount Vernon,
in an apartment he shared
with his girlfriend, Pauletta.
Pauletta became a partner in his career.
She had been a child prodigy.
By the age of nine, she had performed
as a concert pianist around the world,
and now she put her career on hold
and worked to support them both
while he looked for acting jobs.
It was an uneasy time.
Denzel was ready to quit acting.
He got a job at the County Department of Recreation,
but Pauletta wouldn't let him give up on his dreams.
[soft instrumental music]
Just a week before he was
supposed to begin his new job,
he found out he had won the role of Malcolm X
in an off-Broadway production,
"When Chickens Come Home to Roost."
It paid $125 per week.
Denzel immersed himself in the role.
He listened to Malcolm X's speeches,
read his books, and even dyed his hair red.
- But why do you have to be so (indistinct)?
It looked like the chickens have come home to roost.
What is that? A joke, humor, Black humor?
[soft instrumental music]
For now the nation of Islam
is associated with it through you.
Do you have any idea of the possible recrimination?
- There won't be any recriminations.
Now, what I had said was morally straight,
and sympathetic, to them and to us.
- [Narrator] He did an enormous amount of research
to get ready to play the role,
a practice which he continued
throughout the rest of his career.
Denzel's success at playing Malcolm X
led to another off-Broadway role in "A Soldier's Play."
Critics praised his performance
as a hotheaded army private, and Denzel won an Obie,
an off-Broadway equivalent of a Tony Award.
Success led to more success.
And after several triumphant stage performances
in California and New York,
he made his screen debut in the comedy,
"Carbon Copy," in 1981,
playing the long lost son of George Segal.
- My, what a fine looking boy.
You were right, Walter. I was worried over nothing.
You're just in time for dinner.
Walter, will you tell Maryanne
that we're expecting her?
Roger?
We're having chicken for dinner.
- I just love chicken, ma'am.
- I know you do.
I had Bianca prepare especially for you.
- [Narrator] Denzel welcomed the challenge,
as well, the substantial
money that the film role offered.
By now, Hollywood was beginning to take notice
of this rising star.
But the studio had noticed a prominent gap
in his front teeth, and asked him to get it fixed.
Much to Denzel's surprise,
they paid for his dental work,
and there he got his first taste of star treatment.
- High hopes.
I'm just here for the party.
- [Narrator] He first began
to receive national attention
for his work on the television drama "St. Elsewhere."
The television producer saw Denzel in "Carbon Copy"
and "The Soldier's Play,"
and wanted to cast him as Dr. Chandler.
(uplifting music)
Thinking the stage was his true home,
Denzel almost turned down the role,
but the money was just too good to pass up.
[jazz music]
"Saint Elsewhere" broke
the mold of serial television.
Set in an aging hospital with financial woes,
the ensemble cast and controversial storylines
were revolutionary for television.
Although the show was never a huge success
in terms of ratings, the critics loved it.
- So "St. Elsewhere" was a popular American
medical comedy drama, and it followed the lives
of doctors, and nurses, and patients
at this medical facility,
and that's where Denzel got his big break.
- [Narrator] In 1982, during "St. Elsewhere's" first season,
Denzel and Pauletta moved to Los Angeles.
The success of the show
ended their financial struggles.
And after four years together,
the couple married in 1983
and had their first child, John David, a year later.
They bought their first million dollar home
in an exclusive suburb,
and soon after, the Washingtons had a second child,
daughter Katia.
In 1983, Denzel was given a
brief leave from "St. Elsewhere"
to act in a film.
Director Norman Jewison had seen him off Broadway,
and wanted him to reprise his role
as the brash young army private in "A Soldier's Story,"
a film version of the play.
He felt lucky to get such a quality role.
[jazz music]
Once filming was completed,
Denzel returned to "St. Elsewhere."
The show won 12 Emmys during its six year run,
and Denzel was earning $30,000 per episode.
His financial success allowed him
to be selective in choosing his roles.
- He really was able to kind of
show how charismatic he was,
and how charming,
and bring a lot of gravitas to this medical show
that I think really developed a fondness
between audiences and him, and set him up as someone
that was developing a real
following within the industry.
- [Narrator] Now a recognizable
television and film star,
Denzel found roles with integrity.
He portrayed an inspiring
real-life inner city teacher
in a television movie, "The George McKenna Story,"
alongside Lynn Whitfield.
Not long after, in 1986,
a once in a lifetime role came Denzel's way.
Director Richard Attenborough
wanted him to portray
the South African activist Stephen Biko
in the film "Cry Freedom."
- One of Denzel Washington's really early key roles
was playing Steve Biko,
the anti-apartheid activist in South Africa.
And he is, of course, killed within the story.
And so, it sets up his career
in a direction that it will go for many, many years,
in which he is the kind of moral center of the story.
His death stands for
all of the crimes and injustice of apartheid.
So it was a really important role
in establishing his star persona.
[soft instrumental music]
- [Narrator] To play Biko,
he removed the caps from his teeth, gained 30 pounds,
grew a goatee, and studied
all the material he could find
about the real life freedom fighter.
The role offered him the incomparable experience
of shooting in Tanzania and Zimbabwe in Africa.
Denzel was reportedly disappointed
that several of his impassioned speeches
were cut from the film,
but what remained was compelling enough
to prompt actor Dustin Hoffman to send Denzel a note,
which read simply, "What grace."
Denzel believed that the film
would also help to raise awareness
for racial and social issues in the United States.
- "Cry Freedom" was filmed by Richard Attenborough,
who is regarded as one of the great
filmmakers of his generation,
and it wasn't that long after
the death of Martin Luther King.
And this was something that would become
a kind of hallmark of Denzel's career.
- [Reporter] Being involved in a film like "Cry Freedom"
will make the public very
aware of the terrible inequities
that still exist in South Africa.
What about the inequities
that still exist in the United States?
Do you sense that this sort of takes the spotlight
off of problems that are still within our society?
- You mean racial problems? - Yeah.
- No, I think it'll only shine more light on it,
the similarities.
I think the problems here are
more subtle, more advanced.
You know, it's not as obvious
a problem as in South Africa.
You know, you can change laws,
but you can't necessarily
change people's hearts and minds,
and that only comes through time,
and constant pressure and struggle.
- [Narrator] He received his
first Academy Award nomination
for best supporting actor in 1988
due to his powerful performance.
He lost to the more experienced Sean Connery,
who won for "The Untouchables."
However, Denzel did win the NAACP image award
for his role as Steven Biko.
[soft instrumental music]
That same year, Denzel returned to New York
to pursue his dream of acting on Broadway.
He made his Broadway debut in "Checkmates."
The play had a successful run,
but he soon returned to Hollywood.
Although he was recognized as a premier actor,
there just weren't many roles available
for an African American actor at the time.
So, Denzel took a more aggressive approach,
campaigning for roles in the British film
"For Queen and Country,"
and the lighter film, "The Mighty Quinn,"
where he played a passionate Jamaican.
He was happy to have found such strong roles,
but he reportedly wasn't too pleased
about doing the required love
scene in "The Mighty Quinn"
with Mimi Rogers.
Denzel did not want to
embarrass himself or his family,
and he looked so uncomfortable on film
that the scene was cut entirely.
While each project offered Denzel new challenges,
his greatest reward was just over the horizon.
He was about to star in his
most significant role to date,
and win Hollywood's biggest prize.
By the time he was 33, Denzel
had already proven himself
on stage, on film, and on television.
He had an Oscar nomination
and an NAACP award under his belt,
as well as a long string of quality roles,
despite the scarcity of such roles
for African American actors in Hollywood.
In 1989, Denzel made the decision
to portray his riskiest and
most emotional role to date.
It was a complete departure from the clean cut,
intelligent man he had played before.
He played a freed slave fighting in the Union Army
in the American Civil War film "Glory."
- In "Glory," he plays a former slave in the United States
in the 1860s, who goes over to fight for the union,
to fight for the northern side against slavery,
and it is a very intense film
that shows his transformation
from being a rebel slave
to being someone who is fighting
for the higher cause of the union,
and he once again is the moral center of the story.
Because he begins as a rebel,
and he has to find a way of bringing himself within
[jazz music]
the power and the hierarchy of the Northern Army.
At one point, he goes awol,
and he is brought back by the army police,
and he is whipped as a punishment,
apparently the standard punishment for going awol.
But when they take off his shirt to whip him,
you can see that his back is already covered in scars
from many whippings as a slave.
And so, as he's being whipped,
he stares at his commanding officer,
played by Matthew Broderick,
with a kind of intensity and vehemence
that is really his trademark as an actor.
One tear falls down his cheek,
to convey the pain of the whipping.
But otherwise, there's just this amazing intensity
that he brings to the role
- You may commence.
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music]
Proceed.
[soft instrumental music]
[whip slashes cracking]
[dramatic music]
- [Narrator] Denzel brought his family
with him on location to Georgia,
and said it was one of the best experiences
he had ever had making the film.
The depth of his performance was rewarded
on January 29th, 1990.
He won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor,
and in February, a nomination
for an Academy Award followed.
- So Denzel won his first Oscar for "Glory,"
for Best Supporting Actor,
which was his second nomination.
He also beat out some pretty incredible performers
to win the award.
He beat Marlon Brando,
and he beat Danny Aiello,
who had started "Do the Right Thing."
But I think the reason that
that performance won the Oscar
is because it felt like he'd put so much of himself,
and so much spirit and power into the performance.
And I think that it really did feel like a win,
that despite how young he was when he made the film,
he was only kind of in his late 20s, early 30s,
it was something that truly
resonated with audiences
and felt like something new
was coming through on screen.
- [Reporter] Well, one of the scenes
that had to be the toughest to do,
or maybe went through your mind,
would be a scene where you're whipped.
Can you talk? - Not the toughest,
the simplest scene.
The toughest for everyone else that day except me,
because I knew exactly what I was doing
and I had the spirits of all of those people
who had been whipped for real with me.
You know, I started acting, what, 1975.
I was in college, my first acting class.
The teacher went around and asked everyone
what they wanna do, why they wanna be an actor.
And I said, I wanna be the best actor in the world.
And everybody went, oh, really?
Like, who the hell does he think he is?
But not only to be the best in the world.
Who's the best, who's the best supporting actor?
Who knows? But to be the best that I can be.
And this feels like not a confirmation of that,
but I know that I've been working the right way
and trying to do the right
things, and growing as an actor.
I want to continue to grow.
I'm gonna play Richard III this summer the Park,
and that's gonna stretch the heck outta me,
but it's gonna teach me some lessons.
And I may fall on my face, but I'm gonna go for it.
[jazz music]
- [Narrator] Following the Oscars,
Denzel received another honor for "Glory,"
his second NAACP Image Award.
Not too long after the awards,
another exciting event happened.
Twins, Malcolm and Olivia were born.
Washington's skill as an actor
and his popular appeal as a leading man
were firmly established in the 1990s.
He gave memorable performances
in the romantic comedy
"Mississippi Masala" in 1991,
the Shakespearean comedy
"Much Ado About Nothing" in 1993,
and in the courtroom drama "Philadelphia" in 1993.
Other notable roles include
the hard-boiled mystery
"Devil in a Blue Dress" in 1995,
and the military thriller
"Crimson Tide" in the same year.
The latter was the first of several popular movies
he made with director Tony Scott.
During this time, he also frequently worked
with the director Spike Lee,
starring in "Mo Better Blues" in 1990,
"He Got Game" in 1998,
and most significantly, "Malcolm X" in 1992.
- So "Mo Better Blues" is one of Spike Lee's earlier films.
It came just after "Do the Right Thing,"
which was his big breakthrough,
which kind of launched him to the world.
And this was his first collaboration with Denzel.
And it was something a little bit different
after "Do The Right Thing,"
which is a very angry, very powder keg type film.
And "Mo Better Blues" was something different
that I think proved not only Spike Lee's
versatility as a filmmaker,
but Denzel's versatility as an actor.
- Big.
I don't like no static.
You know I'm a peaceful person.
And even though you fired my ass, you're still my boy.
I look out for your best interest.
When was the last time you seen Clark?
- I don't know. What's up?
Shadow's boning Clark.
- Oh, Shadow.
[moaning]
Oh, yeah.
- Oh yeah, baby, you like it.
Yeah, I'm gonna give it to you.
- He plays this jazz musician
who is incredibly talented,
but also has personal demons that he suffers with.
And it's really a love story,
but it's also about artistic integrity,
which is something that I think Denzel and Spike
have both spoken about a lot
in trying to kind of maintain your artistic freedom
in an industry where that
oftentimes is compromised.
And it was the beginning of this really enduring,
very loving friendship and work relationship
between Denzel and Spike,
which continues to this day.
- What's up? - I got your ticket.
- Okay.
You know that's what I was coming to check on.
- I got your ticket.
- Okay, all right, I'll talk to you later.
- Sit side by side, in the house
- [Denzel] In the house.
- [Narrator] In "Mo Better Blues,"
director Spike Lee wrote Denzel
one of his rare romantic leads.
The two locked horns
when Denzel refused to take his shirt off
during an intimate sex scene.
Again, he worried that his children
may be embarrassed by his work.
Denzel Washington had
shaped his Oscar winning career,
not only by the roles he had accepted,
but also by the roles he had refused.
He rejected roles such as a
small part in Terminated Two,
as it was too small.
He passed on the light story
of racism in "Amos and Andrew,"
and walked away from a million dollar fee
for "Love Field" opposite Michelle Pfeiffer
because he didn't like the script.
But the waiting finally paid off
with a role Denzel Gladly accepted,
"Malcolm X."
[instrumental music]
This role would prove to be
the challenge that he was looking for.
Portraying the civil rights activist Malcolm X,
Washington gave a complex
and powerful performance,
and many believe it to be his greatest
and most controversial role to date.
- So "Malcolm X" is widely regarded as one
of the best biopics ever made,
and maybe one of the longest.
But I think it's definitely one of the most rewarding
films you can sit down and watch.
- These are the questions.
These are the questions you and I have to ask.
How did we get this mind?
You're not an American.
You're an African who happens to be an American.
You have to understand the difference.
We didn't come over on the Nina, the Pinta,
and the whatchamacallit.
We didn't land on Plymouth Rock.
Plymouth Rock landed on us, landed right on top of us.
(audience applauding)
- And Spike Lee fought
incredibly hard to make the film.
Originally a White director
had been chosen by the studio,
and Spike kind of did a bit of a bit of a protest,
rightfully claiming that a Black filmmaker
should get the opportunity to make the film.
And he was instated eventually.
And Denzel stayed on board the project.
He'd been cast before Spike Lee became involved.
And Spike Lee said, the only person
he ever wanted to play Malcolm X was Denzel.
He'd played him before on
Broadway when he was younger,
and did just a phenomenal amount of research
into who he was as a man.
And the result was this incredible epic film
spanning the entire course of Malcolm X's life.
So it really was this attempt to capture
an incredibly important
figure in American culture,
in Islamic culture,
in the liberation of African Americans in America.
The way Spike does it is with such energy
and such reverence,
but also, he is critical at times of Malcolm X,
and he doesn't shy away
from the more difficult parts of his life.
And I think that Denzel brings
such a sense of personality to the role,
it doesn't feel like you're watching
him doing an impression of Malcolm X.
It really does feel like you are watching a film
with the man himself.
And it still is regarded to this day
as one of the greatest biopics of all time.
And I think it is that combination
of Denzel's performance and spike's direction
that means people still love the film
and resonate with the film to this day.
- Pacify it.
Why, you can't even get drugs in Harlem
without the White man's permission.
You can't get prostitution in Harlem
without the White man's permission.
You can't get gambling in Harlem
without the White man's permission.
Every time you break the seal on that liquor bottle,
that's a government seal you're breaking.
Oh, I say it, I say it again,
you've been had, you've been took,
you've been hoodwink, bamboozled,
led astray, run amok.
This is what he does.
- [Narrator] The tumultuous production of "Malcolm X"
was plagued with problems,
and made headlines from start to end.
Director Spike Lee faced heated opposition
from a Black Muslim group,
which felt Lee was not
qualified to tell Malcolm X's story.
And his choice to include visuals
of the American flag going up in flames
in the opening of the film
also rubbed some people the wrong way.
- They flew from LA to New York just to convince me
to change and to take out the
opening sequence of the film.
- [Reporter] So why do you think
it ought to have been directed
by an African American?
- Well, the same reason that Francis Ford Coppola
being an Italian American, the nuances,
the flavor he brought to the "Godfather" trilogy.
[hip hop music]
Him being Italian American, he knew,
he was of that background.
- [Narrator] The film was three hours long,
and even ran over budget.
But despite all the hurdles faced by production,
Denzel remained focused
on his meticulous preparation for the role.
He added to what he had learned many years earlier
for his stage portrayal of Malcolm X.
For inspiration, Denzel drew upon memories
of his father's strength behind the pulpit.
Sadly, Denzel's father passed away in 1991,
suffering a stroke.
It devastated Denzel to see the strong man
he remembered as a young child
lying helpless in a Virginia hospital.
Denzel Washington Sr. died at the age of 81.
Although Denzel had not
remained close to his father,
Denzel Sr. had always been proud of his son.
Sadly, Denzel Sr. never got to see
his son's portrayal of Malcolm X,
a character he drew heavy inspiration
from his preaching for.
[hip hop music]
In preparation for the role,
Denzel also trained with the Nation of Islam,
and he gave up liquor and pork.
To look like Malcolm, Denzel lost 20 pounds,
had his hair dyed red and straightened,
and he interviewed Malcolm X's widow
and two of his brothers.
Malcolm X earned Denzel his third Oscar nomination
in just five years.
But this time, he lost the Academy Award to Al Pacino,
who won for "Scent of a Woman."
However, he did win his fourth
NAACP Image Award for his performance.
But the biggest prize for Washington
was the impact that the film had on young people.
- I've gotten tons and tons and tons of mail
from young people who didn't
know much about Malcolm X,
were walking around with X hats on,
who've taken the initiative to learn more
about their history and their culture.
That's the thing I'm proud of,
most proud of about this film,
is that it made young people,
Black and White, and other colors too,
think about their history in this country
and what has happened, how they've been mis-educated,
and to go and learn things for themselves.
I'm real proud of that fact, as I know Spike is as well.
- [Reporter] What is more important to you,
receiving this acclaim from these group of critics
in New York and LA, or from the audience
that goes to see you, that follows your work?
- It has to be the audience.
But the most important thing to me
is making sure that I've done all I can do
to make the part come to life.
That's what's most important.
That's what I do.
That's what I do.
- [Narrator] But Denzel's string of successes
brought him under increased media scrutiny.
In a Barbara Walter special that aired back to back
with the 1993 Oscar telecast,
Denzel made a televised confession.
He appeared to admit to infidelity by saying,
"Temptation is all around and I haven't been perfect."
- Well, listen, my wife is the backbone of our family,
and I'm wise enough to admit that.
- You speak so lovingly of your wife.
I'm not gonna come back in five years
and find out that you're not together.
[soft dramatic music]
I gotta have a little faith in someone.
- I'd never leave my wife.
Being a star and all of that, temptation's all around,
it's all around, and I haven't been perfect.
I'll be quite candid about it.
- What do you mean?
- Well, we've gone through ups and downs
and we're still together, and we're best friends.
- [Narrator] The press latched onto that,
and rumors of his cheating
circulated like wildfire.
For an actor with an untarnished image,
it was an unexpected and rare admission.
Denzel criticized the press
for making a story out of it.
Denzel was always happy to
stop and talk about his career,
but very rarely would he
open up about his personal life.
He felt betrayed.
Denzel tried to ignore all the bad publicity
and dedicated himself even more
to his career and his family.
[soft instrumental music]
That same year, 10 years after they had been married,
Pauletta and Denzel renewed their wedding vows
while on a trip to Africa.
Bishop Desmond Tutu did the honors.
- You never get to meet my wife.
- Well, very nice to meet you.
We talk about you a lot.
- But now you get to... - Yeah, very nice.
- [Narrator] In 1993, the success of three films
diverted the public's attention
away from his personal life.
He sought out roles that would prove
he could hold his own at the box office,
regardless of color.
In a bit of unusual casting,
Denzel tried Shakespeare again,
in Kenneth Branagh's romantic comedy,
"Much Ado About Nothing."
He had always campaigned for the roles he wanted.
But for "The Pelican Brief," it was Julia Roberts
who campaigned to get Denzel
the part of the crusading reporter.
It was originally written for a White actor,
but Julia convinced director Alan Pakula
that Denzel was right for the part.
[soft instrumental music]
Pakula decided before Denzel signed on
that the love scenes of the book
were not going to work in the film.
This fueled speculation that it was a racial issue,
as interracial couples were
still frowned upon at this time.
The director claimed that race
never had anything to do with the decision.
If Hollywood needed to be convinced
that Denzel Washington could
appeal to a mass audience,
"The Pelican Brief" offered proof.
The film grossed nearly $200 million worldwide,
making it an undeniable hit amongst moviegoers.
But the success didn't stop there.
His next hit was just around the corner.
[soft instrumental music]
"Philadelphia," released in 1994,
marked the first time a major studio
produced a film about AIDS
that appealed to a mass audience.
- "Philadelphia" was a really important
film in the early 1990s.
It was the time of the AIDS crisis.
The AIDS crisis was at its height.
So not only were many people dying of AIDS
and were ill with AIDS,
but there was a huge public panic around AIDS
and how contagious it was,
and how people with AIDS should be treated.
There was a huge amount of homophobia around AIDS,
really outspoken homophobia
in a way that's difficult to imagine today.
We've moved away from that a lot.
So Jonathan Demi made "Philadelphia"
as a way of countering prejudice
against people with AIDS,
and raising awareness of AIDS
as a disease that was
causing a lot of discrimination.
Tom Hanks plays a young lawyer who develops AIDS
and is sacked from his job
by his very prejudiced bosses at the law firm.
- Mr. Beckett, come in.
[soft instrumental music]
- It's good to see you again, Counselor.
Judge Tate, Kendall Construction.
- Innocuous.
How are you? What happened to your face?
- I have AIDS.
- Oh.
- Denzel Washington comes into it as the lawyer
who is initially very reluctant
to engage with Hanks.
He doesn't want to take on the case
because he is prejudiced against people with AIDS,
he has all sorts of assumptions
about people with AIDS
and how contagious AIDS is.
And so, he becomes the kind of conscience of the film,
the public conscience of the
film, who's gradually won over
and takes the case, and learns what AIDS is,
and that it's not that contagious
in terms of everyday contact,
and develops a huge amount of sympathy for Tom Hanks.
They're quite close by the end of the film.
And so, it's really the story of Denzel Washington's
awakening to the crisis, and to homophobia,
and that all sounds very worthy.
But of course, he plays it with
a huge amount of charisma,
with humor, with frankness.
It's a really, really important role in the film,
and an important film, I think, in his career.
Denzel Washington undoubtedly brought
a lot of people to see the film
who would not have otherwise seen it.
- They're looking at Mr. Wheeler, Ms. Cornin,
even you, Your Honor.
They're wondering about it.
[dramatic music]
Trust me, I know that they are looking at me
and thinking about it.
So let's just get it on the open.
Let's get it outta the closet.
Because this case is not just about AIDS, is it?
So let's talk about what this case is really all about.
The general public's hatred, our loathing,
our fear of homosexuals.
- Denzel felt he could not
have played the Tom Hanks role
because it might have been too embarrassing
for his school-age son,
although Tom Hanks shared a different perspective.
- If this was 1962 and Rock Hudson
had to pretend to be married
to his publicist secretary,
and Luella Parsons was still
stabbing people in the back
with her newspaper column,
maybe it would be a tough role to take on.
But believe me, in the United States and in the UK,
there is stuff on free TV day in and day out
that make me playing a homosexual
small potatoes in comparison.
- [Narrator] Even so, the role Denzel did choose
was not easy.
He was playing a not so very sympathetic character
who was a good counterpart to Hanks.
The film won Tom Hanks an Oscar.
And although Denzel did not,
the film certainly continued
to raise his prestige as an actor.
The award-winning "Philadelphia" was a hit,
grossing more than $200 million
in theaters around the world.
Following the hits, the
"Pelican Brief" and "Philadelphia,"
Denzel chose another colorblind role,
playing the second in Command man to Gene Hackman
in "Crimson Tide."
Taking in nearly $100 million in the theaters,
"Crimson Tide" continued his run of hits.
[jazz music]
Denzel had a more family oriented movie in mind
for his next project.
His Monday Lane Productions
produced a remake of the
1947 classic, "The Bishop's Wife,"
and renamed it "The Preacher's Wife"
- You ever had your palm read?
Denzel took on Carrie Grant's part as an angel,
and had to do a hard sale to get Whitney Houston
to take on the role of the spirited wife.
Denzel seemed more at home
making a movie with family appeal.
"The Preacher's Wife" was a moderate success,
making $48 million at the box office.
"Glory" director, Ed Zwick called Denzel
back to the military for "Courage Under Fire," in 1996.
20th Century Fox hired Denzel
for the highest salary ever paid
to an African American actor for a dramatic role,
over $10 million.
With his success
came more and more attention from the press,
most of which he reportedly found quite irritating.
People Magazine proclaimed Denzel
as one of the sexiest men alive.
[jazz music]
Denzel dismissed that notion,
claiming that no women ever lined up at his door
when he was a young, man and he must have just aged well.
- So by the end of the 90s,
Denzel had really developed
a incredible reputation
as one of the best actors working of his generation.
He had made "Malcolm X," he'd made "The Hurricane."
He was kind of on top of the world in a lot of aspects,
and was fast becoming really someone
that audiences loved to watch.
- [Narrator] By now, Denzel had become
an accomplished producer and a highly paid actor
in just a few years.
His success and professional
image drew comparisons
over the years to another
handsome African American actor,
Sidney Poitier.
The pair ended up being good friends,
despite never playing in a film together.
"Sidney Poitier told me many, many years ago
that the first four or five movies that you do
will determine how you're perceived in the business,"
Washington said.
The actor then pointed out
that the first movies he ever worked on
meant he was off to the races.
In the spring of 1998, Denzel
teamed up for the third time
with Spike Lee in Lee's tribute
to the game of basketball,
"He Got Game."
In the critically acclaimed performance,
Denzel played a convicted criminal,
a far cry from his usual good guy roles.
In "Training Day," released in 2001,
Washington played a corrupt
and violent police detective,
the performance for which he became
only the second African American actor,
the first being Sidney Sidney Poitier,
to win an Oscar for best Actor.
- In "Training Day," we see Denzel playing
a pretty different character for him.
Up until the point of "Training Day,"
he'd already made this reputation for himself
almost of playing nice guys,
or if not nice guys, very authoritative figures
who were very noble and just.
And now he was playing this corrupt cop,
and not even a little bit corrupt, a very corrupt cop,
who is the antagonist of the film.
And I think this surprised a lot of people,
not because they didn't think that Denzel
was capable of playing such a difficult role,
but because he was so believable and so commanding.
And the film really to this day
is considered one of his best performances.
[jazz music]
- Just throw that in glove box.
- This car is not from the motor pool.
- No, it's not.
Sexy though, isn't it?
So where's the office, back at Division?
- You're in the office, baby.
[hip hop music]
Going up.
[hip hop music]
- [Narrator] In addition to his film work,
Washington occasionally
made time to return to the stage.
In 2005, he starred as Brutus in "Julius Caesar."
Five years later, he appeared
in the Broadway revival
of August Wilson's "Fences,"
a family drama set in the 1950s
that explores issues of identity and racism.
For his performance,
Washington won a Tony Award in 2010.
He later directed and stared
in a film adaptation of the play
alongside his friend and Egot
holder, actress Viola Davis,
and his performance earned him an Oscar nomination.
- "Fences" is a play about a former baseball player
who has become a sanitation worker.
And it's a story that Denzel was very familiar with
because he had played the
role previously on Broadway
and had worked with Viola Davis,
who played his in the play,
and it's something that I think he felt very strongly
needed to be moved to the big screen,
or deserved to be moved to the big screen.
And it's quite a tough watch at times.
I think that Viola Davis and Denzel
are such a compelling presence together on screen.
And it confronts a lot of difficult truths
about living as a Black couple in 1950s Pittsburgh,
and the kind of harshness of that life.
- We're not talking about no baseball.
- Oh, you're not listening to me.
I'm trying to explain it to you the best way I know how.
It's not easy for me to admit
that I've been standing in the same place for 18 years.
- Well, I've been standing with you.
I've been right here with you, Troy.
I got a life too.
I gave 18 years of my life to
stand in the same spot as you.
Don't you think I ever wanted another things?
Don't you think I had dreams and hopes?
What about my life? What about me?
- It really felt like you were watching
these two kind of powerhouse actors
giving their all to the source material.
And I think that directing theater on the big screen
is always quite difficult.
But Denzel, I think,
because he has such experience as an actor on screen,
on stage, behind the camera,
I think he really was the best person
to realize this dream of bringing the film together.
- Some critics have said that Denzel Washington
transcends race, and I get what they mean,
that he's an actor who is popular
and can take on any kind of role
regardless of the race of the character.
But I also think it's important
that he is African American
and he has the stature that he has in Hollywood.
'Cause really, there aren't
that many other actors like him.
There aren't that many leading
African American male actors
who don't play comedy,
and who have the kind of gravitas that he has.
So I think he's a really
important presence in Hollywood.
- [Narrator] After playing Robert McCall,
a mysterious vigilante,
in the action thriller, "The Equalizer," in 2014,
Washington appeared in "The
Magnificent Seven" in 2016,
a remake of the 1960 classic western.
In 2017, he starred in "Roman J. Israel,"
portraying an idealistic Los Angeles lawyer
who begins to question his principles.
For his performance,
Washington received his eighth
Oscar nomination for acting.
He then reprized his role as Robert McCall
in "The Equalizer 2" in 2018,
proving that he had more than the capabilities
to carry a successful film franchise.
- In "The Equalizer,"
he plays a man of extraordinary humility,
quietness, moral centeredness,
all the things that we might expect
from any Washington character.
But we're always aware that
behind that tranquil surface,
there is a man who is capable
of extraordinary violence,
[piano music]
and capable of saving anyone from anything.
There is no corner that he's backed into
that he can't work his way out of.
It's really quite an extraordinary role.
And I think as the film goes by, you just accept that,
that he will always survive,
no matter what is thrown at him, he will overcome it.
And there's a kind of clarity to the character
that makes that believable.
- Is that a Heckler & Koch?
[suspenseful music]
- This? - Yeah.
(speaking in foreign language)
- What is he saying?
- I don't fucking know.
- Can I see it?
- Oh, you want to see my gun?
- Yes and no.
- Alright, alright, alright. Whoa, whoa, whoa!
You're so fucking nuts, fuck!
- All right, everybody settle down.
- [Narrator] Also in 2021, Washington starred
with Frances McDormand in "The Tragedy of Macbeth,"
Joel Cohen's adaptation of Shakespeare's play.
Washington received an Academy Award nomination
for his portrayal of the titular character.
- One of the really remarkable
things about his later career
is that he keeps returning to Broadway
to work as stage actor.
So he's an actor who believes
in acting in that traditional sense.
It's clearly a way of kind of proving your chops
as an actor.
What he could do now as an actor in his 60s
is sit back and take the best film roles.
But he's clearly more ambitious
and more driven than that.
- [Narrator] In 2016, Washington received
the Cecil B. DeMille Award,
a Golden Globe Award for
outstanding contributions
to the world of entertainment.
- Now, it's odd how many of these
immortals of the silver screen, of the firmament,
need only one name
to conjure the gestalt of their great artistry.
In women, it's names like
Garbo, Hepburn, Stanwick, Lauren.
[piano music]
With men, it's Bogart, Cagney, Gable.
Now, you can check in the one-two combination punch
of Gary Cooper or John Wayne, but a solo tag is the norm.
Brando, Clift, Poitier,
McQueen, Hoffman, De Niro, Pacino.
Now the cliche, the list goes on and on,
does not apply here, because it doesn't.
The list is finite, the club is exclusive,
but it includes the actor
who is to being given the
Cecil B. DeMille Award tonight.
(audience applauding)
- [Narrator] He later was awarded
the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022.
Denzel felt no constraints
about his personal responsibilities.
He is known to be very generous
with his wealth and his time.
[soft instrumental music]
- Denzel has become one of the most well-known
and well-liked figures in Hollywood.
I think it's very hard to find anyone
with a bad word to say against him,
because he's such a hardworking man,
and so committed to storytelling and to craft,
but also to helping other actors
and to championing other actors.
If you ever see him interviewed,
he's a very generous interviewee, and very funny.
And he has really managed to maintain
this kind of levelheadedness
throughout his career in
Hollywood, which is no small thing.
- [Reporter] Speaking of actors,
did anything surprise you
about Denzel, working with him?
- No.
I mean, I know his talent.
I knew his caliber of talent.
I've been watching him forever.
So I wasn't really surprised at anything.
I was happy at how generous he was,
and how accessible he was as an actor in the scenes.
It just raised everything to that next level.
- He's been married to his wife for a very long time.
In Hollywood, that is incredibly impressive.
And now we're seeing his kids
come through the system as well
with a love for acting and filmmaking.
I think that that proves that
Denzel has done a lot right
to kind of show them that there's a place
in this world for their stories,
and for them to have the same
love for the craft as he does.
- Denzel Washington is an actor and a star
who has no scandal attached to him whatsoever.
He lives a very wholesome life,
especially by Hollywood standards.
He's a family man, he's a churchgoer.
People who know him talk
about the strength of his faith.
And the fiasco at the Oscars
when Will Smith hit Chris Rock,
it was Denzel Washington
that Will Smith then turned to
and took solace from.
And Denzel Washington not only consoled him,
but gave him a kind of spiritual advice
about what had happened.
That is, when you were at your most powerful,
the devil comes for you and undermines you.
And I think that's how Will Smith
felt about what had happened.
And having Denzel Washington's advice
helped him come through that moment.
- He's also known for supporting a ranger of charities,
such as the Fisher House Foundation
and the Nelson Mandela Fund.
And he really is someone who
cares about using his platform,
but in a kind of behind the scenes way.
He doesn't want a ton of credit or glory.
He just wants to use the
money and success that he's had
to help other people.
- [Narrator] He donated two and a half million dollars
for a new building at the
church he and his family attend.
He also stayed involved
with the Boys and Girls Club of America,
becoming the national
spokesman for the organization
which had kept him off the streets many years ago.
Whether as an actor, producer, director,
or simply as a human being,
Denzel Washington pursued
his goals with integrity,
and a genuine desire to spread goodness
and constantly challenge himself.
- I wish I was the smartest them.
[laughter]
- When the history of Hollywood
is written in future years,
there'll be two African American actors
who really stand out.
One of them will be Sidney Poitier,
who was really the first leading man,
leading man who was African American,
and the second will, of course, be Denzel Washington.
And Denzel Washington redefined
what an African American actor can do in Hollywood.
Sidney Poitier tended to play characters
who did not trouble or challenge the mainstream,
that is White American audience.
Whereas Denzel Washington plays
much more ambitious, challenging roles.
He's not there to make the White American audience
feel better about themselves.
He plays strong, powerful,
at times aggressive, and very moral,
morally upstanding African-American roles.
And I think that's the biggest part of his legacy,
the way in which he changed
what African American actors can do in Hollywood.
[soft instrumental music]
[soft instrumental music]
[soft instrumental music]
[upbeat music]
most proud of about this film,
is that it made young people, Black and White,
and other colors too,
think about their history in this country,
and what has happened, how they've been mis-educated,
and to go and learn things for themselves.
I'm real proud of that fact.
[gentle music]
- [Narrator] Not too far from New York City
lies the integrated middle
class suburb of Mount Vernon.
There, on December 28th, 1954, a star was born.
[gentle music]
His name, Denzel Washington Jr.
- Who is Denzel Washington?
Denzel Washington is the
leading actor of the 21st century,
according to the New York Times,
leading Hollywood actor of the 21st century.
- [Reporter] If you could choose your future,
where do you see yourself being in 20 years,
and what kind of work do you think
you'll have accomplished by then?
- Oh, 20 years from now,
I think I would like to see myself making films,
[gentle music]
as a director, possibly as a producer, possibly,
but having more control over the product
that I'm involved with.
You heard it here live, I should stick with acting.
News at 11.
- [Narrator] He was born into a hardworking
and religious family.
His father worked two jobs during the week,
leaving hours before the kids woke up
and returning after they were asleep,
all to ensure that his children were raised
in a financially secure environment.
On Sundays, he was a Pentecostal minister
who preached to his church with a passionate flare.
Denzel's mother, Lennis, worked as a beautician
and owned several beauty shops.
She was a strict but loving mother
who sang in the church choir.
Denzel was the second of three children,
and they were all raised with church and hard work
at the forefront of their lives,
so much so that his father only allowed the kids
to see movies with biblical themes.
- My father was a minister in the church.
I grew up in the church.
We weren't allowed to go to the movies.
We saw "King of Kings," "10 Commandments."
[gentle music]
That might've been about it.
So I didn't grow up really watching westerns.
We had a television show in America, Bonanza.
I got to see that, but I never went to the movies.
- He always said that his
parents were sort of mismatched,
that his mother was a woman of a city
and his father was a man of the country,
who was much more innocent than she was.
I think what they had in common
was they were both very religious.
So his father was a Pentecostal minister,
and his mother was religious as well.
And he grew up going to church every Sunday,
at least every Sunday,
and has carried through his religious belief
throughout his life.
And I think it accounts for
some of his moral sense as an actor,
and his sense that in most of the films he plays,
he plays someone who is on the side of good.
And he said that this was his career goal,
to play characters who brought
something good to the world.
- [Narrator] But when you grow up
just a few streets from the Bronx,
a place where only a few kids went to college
and many more ended up in trouble,
there's only so much sheltering a parent can do.
[gentle music]
Denzel's father was rarely around
to give his son a pat on the
back after a successful game,
as he was usually too busy at work, or at his church.
In order to create a safe haven while they worked,
the Washingtons sent six-year-old Denzel
and his brother, David,
to the Boys and Girls Club after school.
The Boys and Girls Club became
Denzel's home away from home.
There, he was encouraged to play sports
and enjoy the company of other children.
By the time he was 11,
to keep out of mischief and
to help the family's finances,
Denzel joined the workforce with part-time jobs
at neighborhood beauty and barbershops.
Ironic, as Denzel claimed
to rarely have had his hair
cut professionally as a child.
But as Denzel entered his teens,
his strong family foundation started to crumble
with the news of his parents separating.
His father moved to Virginia,
although he continued to stay in touch with his son.
Denzel remained with his mother in New York,
strengthening their tight bond.
But the loss of his father left Denzel confused,
and he began showing signs that he might join
the bad boys of the neighborhood
that his parents tried so hard to keep him away from.
He rebelled violently,
and began getting into fights at school.
Concerned for his future,
Denzel's mother sent him away
to the Oakland Academy Boarding School
to straighten him out.
It was a prep school
made up of mostly rich White kids in upstate New York.
- He ended up attending a military school,
which was quite a different environment, I think,
from how a lot of actors spend their early years,
but also I think probably helped instill
this real discipline within him
that we see throughout his career as an actor.
- [Narrator] Denzel was mediocre at academics,
but excelled at sports.
He was a talented athlete with great coordination,
and dreamed of becoming a famous sports star.
But many of his friends thought he'd probably
grow up to be a comedian.
He was known to be a prankster,
fool around and bring joy to his peers,
a trait which he held onto as he aged.
But underneath his funny facade
was a kid who was actually shy and self-conscious
about a gap in his front teeth.
During his boarding school years,
Denzel returned each summer to Mount Vernon
to work at the Boys and Girls Club,
doing for the kids what was once done for him.
[upbeat music]
In 1972, he enrolled at
Fordham University in the Bronx.
He tried pre-med courses to please his mother,
who wanted him to be a doctor,
but he couldn't handle the curriculum
and switched to journalism.
But that also failed to ignite his passion.
Finally, he found his true purpose
when he took part in a theater production
while working at a YMCA summer camp.
Denzel returned to college
that year with a new purpose,
to be the best actor in the world.
(rousing music)
He devoted himself to learning his new craft,
and decided to transfer to
Fordham's theater arts wing
in Manhattan in his senior year.
In his senior year, Denzel landed the lead
in a Fordham production of "Othello."
His performance proved he had enormous talent,
and this was to be the role to change his life.
- Denzel's career began at Fordham University,
where initially he wasn't studying acting.
He had got in with the intention
of doing something completely different.
And he ended up taking some classes
and becoming involved in the drama department,
and developing this real
passion and interest for it.
And he decided to change his degree.
And from then on, it was kind of off to the races for him.
I think that once he had decided
that was something that he wanted to pursue,
he really took to it in a very strong manner.
- [Narrator] He was quickly noticed by several agents,
and was eventually signed
to play the role of the husband
to Olympic gold medalist, Wilma Rudolph,
in the 1977 television movie "Wilma."
- No, I never wanted to go out with no other girls.
[dramatic music]
Not steady.
- That's okay.
You know why?
- No.
- 'Cause I think we're something special.
- [Narrator] This was Denzel's
first professional break.
Denzel landed the role
while he was still a senior at Fordham.
And it was during the filming of "Wilma"
that a pretty young actress caught his eye on set
and the pair quickly became friends.
Her name, Pauletta Pearson.
She had a small part in the production,
but would go on to have an
enormous part in Denzel's life.
Denzel graduated with a double degree
in journalism and drama,
and managed to get into the prestigious
American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.
But after only a year,
he left to test his luck in Hollywood.
He arrived with just $30 in his pocket,
and moved in with some
relatives while he looked for work.
The Urban League found him a job as an acting teacher
at a small private school,
but what he really wanted was to perform.
Denzel returned home to New
York where money was meager,
but work was abundant in Black theater companies.
Soon after, he began dating Pauletta,
the woman he met while filming "Wilma."
Pauletta Pearson was an accomplished pianist,
singer, and actress,
and within a year, they shared
an apartment in Mount Vernon.
Pauletta encouraged Denzel in his acting pursuits,
and he drew a tremendous deal of strength from her.
[soft music]
After a successful string of roles,
Denzel hit a six month dry spell.
This meant no work and no money.
Acting may have fed his soul,
but his stomach and the bills
weren't so well replenished.
By 1979, he had enjoyed a brief taste of success.
He was living in his hometown, Mount Vernon,
in an apartment he shared
with his girlfriend, Pauletta.
Pauletta became a partner in his career.
She had been a child prodigy.
By the age of nine, she had performed
as a concert pianist around the world,
and now she put her career on hold
and worked to support them both
while he looked for acting jobs.
It was an uneasy time.
Denzel was ready to quit acting.
He got a job at the County Department of Recreation,
but Pauletta wouldn't let him give up on his dreams.
[soft instrumental music]
Just a week before he was
supposed to begin his new job,
he found out he had won the role of Malcolm X
in an off-Broadway production,
"When Chickens Come Home to Roost."
It paid $125 per week.
Denzel immersed himself in the role.
He listened to Malcolm X's speeches,
read his books, and even dyed his hair red.
- But why do you have to be so (indistinct)?
It looked like the chickens have come home to roost.
What is that? A joke, humor, Black humor?
[soft instrumental music]
For now the nation of Islam
is associated with it through you.
Do you have any idea of the possible recrimination?
- There won't be any recriminations.
Now, what I had said was morally straight,
and sympathetic, to them and to us.
- [Narrator] He did an enormous amount of research
to get ready to play the role,
a practice which he continued
throughout the rest of his career.
Denzel's success at playing Malcolm X
led to another off-Broadway role in "A Soldier's Play."
Critics praised his performance
as a hotheaded army private, and Denzel won an Obie,
an off-Broadway equivalent of a Tony Award.
Success led to more success.
And after several triumphant stage performances
in California and New York,
he made his screen debut in the comedy,
"Carbon Copy," in 1981,
playing the long lost son of George Segal.
- My, what a fine looking boy.
You were right, Walter. I was worried over nothing.
You're just in time for dinner.
Walter, will you tell Maryanne
that we're expecting her?
Roger?
We're having chicken for dinner.
- I just love chicken, ma'am.
- I know you do.
I had Bianca prepare especially for you.
- [Narrator] Denzel welcomed the challenge,
as well, the substantial
money that the film role offered.
By now, Hollywood was beginning to take notice
of this rising star.
But the studio had noticed a prominent gap
in his front teeth, and asked him to get it fixed.
Much to Denzel's surprise,
they paid for his dental work,
and there he got his first taste of star treatment.
- High hopes.
I'm just here for the party.
- [Narrator] He first began
to receive national attention
for his work on the television drama "St. Elsewhere."
The television producer saw Denzel in "Carbon Copy"
and "The Soldier's Play,"
and wanted to cast him as Dr. Chandler.
(uplifting music)
Thinking the stage was his true home,
Denzel almost turned down the role,
but the money was just too good to pass up.
[jazz music]
"Saint Elsewhere" broke
the mold of serial television.
Set in an aging hospital with financial woes,
the ensemble cast and controversial storylines
were revolutionary for television.
Although the show was never a huge success
in terms of ratings, the critics loved it.
- So "St. Elsewhere" was a popular American
medical comedy drama, and it followed the lives
of doctors, and nurses, and patients
at this medical facility,
and that's where Denzel got his big break.
- [Narrator] In 1982, during "St. Elsewhere's" first season,
Denzel and Pauletta moved to Los Angeles.
The success of the show
ended their financial struggles.
And after four years together,
the couple married in 1983
and had their first child, John David, a year later.
They bought their first million dollar home
in an exclusive suburb,
and soon after, the Washingtons had a second child,
daughter Katia.
In 1983, Denzel was given a
brief leave from "St. Elsewhere"
to act in a film.
Director Norman Jewison had seen him off Broadway,
and wanted him to reprise his role
as the brash young army private in "A Soldier's Story,"
a film version of the play.
He felt lucky to get such a quality role.
[jazz music]
Once filming was completed,
Denzel returned to "St. Elsewhere."
The show won 12 Emmys during its six year run,
and Denzel was earning $30,000 per episode.
His financial success allowed him
to be selective in choosing his roles.
- He really was able to kind of
show how charismatic he was,
and how charming,
and bring a lot of gravitas to this medical show
that I think really developed a fondness
between audiences and him, and set him up as someone
that was developing a real
following within the industry.
- [Narrator] Now a recognizable
television and film star,
Denzel found roles with integrity.
He portrayed an inspiring
real-life inner city teacher
in a television movie, "The George McKenna Story,"
alongside Lynn Whitfield.
Not long after, in 1986,
a once in a lifetime role came Denzel's way.
Director Richard Attenborough
wanted him to portray
the South African activist Stephen Biko
in the film "Cry Freedom."
- One of Denzel Washington's really early key roles
was playing Steve Biko,
the anti-apartheid activist in South Africa.
And he is, of course, killed within the story.
And so, it sets up his career
in a direction that it will go for many, many years,
in which he is the kind of moral center of the story.
His death stands for
all of the crimes and injustice of apartheid.
So it was a really important role
in establishing his star persona.
[soft instrumental music]
- [Narrator] To play Biko,
he removed the caps from his teeth, gained 30 pounds,
grew a goatee, and studied
all the material he could find
about the real life freedom fighter.
The role offered him the incomparable experience
of shooting in Tanzania and Zimbabwe in Africa.
Denzel was reportedly disappointed
that several of his impassioned speeches
were cut from the film,
but what remained was compelling enough
to prompt actor Dustin Hoffman to send Denzel a note,
which read simply, "What grace."
Denzel believed that the film
would also help to raise awareness
for racial and social issues in the United States.
- "Cry Freedom" was filmed by Richard Attenborough,
who is regarded as one of the great
filmmakers of his generation,
and it wasn't that long after
the death of Martin Luther King.
And this was something that would become
a kind of hallmark of Denzel's career.
- [Reporter] Being involved in a film like "Cry Freedom"
will make the public very
aware of the terrible inequities
that still exist in South Africa.
What about the inequities
that still exist in the United States?
Do you sense that this sort of takes the spotlight
off of problems that are still within our society?
- You mean racial problems? - Yeah.
- No, I think it'll only shine more light on it,
the similarities.
I think the problems here are
more subtle, more advanced.
You know, it's not as obvious
a problem as in South Africa.
You know, you can change laws,
but you can't necessarily
change people's hearts and minds,
and that only comes through time,
and constant pressure and struggle.
- [Narrator] He received his
first Academy Award nomination
for best supporting actor in 1988
due to his powerful performance.
He lost to the more experienced Sean Connery,
who won for "The Untouchables."
However, Denzel did win the NAACP image award
for his role as Steven Biko.
[soft instrumental music]
That same year, Denzel returned to New York
to pursue his dream of acting on Broadway.
He made his Broadway debut in "Checkmates."
The play had a successful run,
but he soon returned to Hollywood.
Although he was recognized as a premier actor,
there just weren't many roles available
for an African American actor at the time.
So, Denzel took a more aggressive approach,
campaigning for roles in the British film
"For Queen and Country,"
and the lighter film, "The Mighty Quinn,"
where he played a passionate Jamaican.
He was happy to have found such strong roles,
but he reportedly wasn't too pleased
about doing the required love
scene in "The Mighty Quinn"
with Mimi Rogers.
Denzel did not want to
embarrass himself or his family,
and he looked so uncomfortable on film
that the scene was cut entirely.
While each project offered Denzel new challenges,
his greatest reward was just over the horizon.
He was about to star in his
most significant role to date,
and win Hollywood's biggest prize.
By the time he was 33, Denzel
had already proven himself
on stage, on film, and on television.
He had an Oscar nomination
and an NAACP award under his belt,
as well as a long string of quality roles,
despite the scarcity of such roles
for African American actors in Hollywood.
In 1989, Denzel made the decision
to portray his riskiest and
most emotional role to date.
It was a complete departure from the clean cut,
intelligent man he had played before.
He played a freed slave fighting in the Union Army
in the American Civil War film "Glory."
- In "Glory," he plays a former slave in the United States
in the 1860s, who goes over to fight for the union,
to fight for the northern side against slavery,
and it is a very intense film
that shows his transformation
from being a rebel slave
to being someone who is fighting
for the higher cause of the union,
and he once again is the moral center of the story.
Because he begins as a rebel,
and he has to find a way of bringing himself within
[jazz music]
the power and the hierarchy of the Northern Army.
At one point, he goes awol,
and he is brought back by the army police,
and he is whipped as a punishment,
apparently the standard punishment for going awol.
But when they take off his shirt to whip him,
you can see that his back is already covered in scars
from many whippings as a slave.
And so, as he's being whipped,
he stares at his commanding officer,
played by Matthew Broderick,
with a kind of intensity and vehemence
that is really his trademark as an actor.
One tear falls down his cheek,
to convey the pain of the whipping.
But otherwise, there's just this amazing intensity
that he brings to the role
- You may commence.
[dramatic music]
[dramatic music]
Proceed.
[soft instrumental music]
[whip slashes cracking]
[dramatic music]
- [Narrator] Denzel brought his family
with him on location to Georgia,
and said it was one of the best experiences
he had ever had making the film.
The depth of his performance was rewarded
on January 29th, 1990.
He won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor,
and in February, a nomination
for an Academy Award followed.
- So Denzel won his first Oscar for "Glory,"
for Best Supporting Actor,
which was his second nomination.
He also beat out some pretty incredible performers
to win the award.
He beat Marlon Brando,
and he beat Danny Aiello,
who had started "Do the Right Thing."
But I think the reason that
that performance won the Oscar
is because it felt like he'd put so much of himself,
and so much spirit and power into the performance.
And I think that it really did feel like a win,
that despite how young he was when he made the film,
he was only kind of in his late 20s, early 30s,
it was something that truly
resonated with audiences
and felt like something new
was coming through on screen.
- [Reporter] Well, one of the scenes
that had to be the toughest to do,
or maybe went through your mind,
would be a scene where you're whipped.
Can you talk? - Not the toughest,
the simplest scene.
The toughest for everyone else that day except me,
because I knew exactly what I was doing
and I had the spirits of all of those people
who had been whipped for real with me.
You know, I started acting, what, 1975.
I was in college, my first acting class.
The teacher went around and asked everyone
what they wanna do, why they wanna be an actor.
And I said, I wanna be the best actor in the world.
And everybody went, oh, really?
Like, who the hell does he think he is?
But not only to be the best in the world.
Who's the best, who's the best supporting actor?
Who knows? But to be the best that I can be.
And this feels like not a confirmation of that,
but I know that I've been working the right way
and trying to do the right
things, and growing as an actor.
I want to continue to grow.
I'm gonna play Richard III this summer the Park,
and that's gonna stretch the heck outta me,
but it's gonna teach me some lessons.
And I may fall on my face, but I'm gonna go for it.
[jazz music]
- [Narrator] Following the Oscars,
Denzel received another honor for "Glory,"
his second NAACP Image Award.
Not too long after the awards,
another exciting event happened.
Twins, Malcolm and Olivia were born.
Washington's skill as an actor
and his popular appeal as a leading man
were firmly established in the 1990s.
He gave memorable performances
in the romantic comedy
"Mississippi Masala" in 1991,
the Shakespearean comedy
"Much Ado About Nothing" in 1993,
and in the courtroom drama "Philadelphia" in 1993.
Other notable roles include
the hard-boiled mystery
"Devil in a Blue Dress" in 1995,
and the military thriller
"Crimson Tide" in the same year.
The latter was the first of several popular movies
he made with director Tony Scott.
During this time, he also frequently worked
with the director Spike Lee,
starring in "Mo Better Blues" in 1990,
"He Got Game" in 1998,
and most significantly, "Malcolm X" in 1992.
- So "Mo Better Blues" is one of Spike Lee's earlier films.
It came just after "Do the Right Thing,"
which was his big breakthrough,
which kind of launched him to the world.
And this was his first collaboration with Denzel.
And it was something a little bit different
after "Do The Right Thing,"
which is a very angry, very powder keg type film.
And "Mo Better Blues" was something different
that I think proved not only Spike Lee's
versatility as a filmmaker,
but Denzel's versatility as an actor.
- Big.
I don't like no static.
You know I'm a peaceful person.
And even though you fired my ass, you're still my boy.
I look out for your best interest.
When was the last time you seen Clark?
- I don't know. What's up?
Shadow's boning Clark.
- Oh, Shadow.
[moaning]
Oh, yeah.
- Oh yeah, baby, you like it.
Yeah, I'm gonna give it to you.
- He plays this jazz musician
who is incredibly talented,
but also has personal demons that he suffers with.
And it's really a love story,
but it's also about artistic integrity,
which is something that I think Denzel and Spike
have both spoken about a lot
in trying to kind of maintain your artistic freedom
in an industry where that
oftentimes is compromised.
And it was the beginning of this really enduring,
very loving friendship and work relationship
between Denzel and Spike,
which continues to this day.
- What's up? - I got your ticket.
- Okay.
You know that's what I was coming to check on.
- I got your ticket.
- Okay, all right, I'll talk to you later.
- Sit side by side, in the house
- [Denzel] In the house.
- [Narrator] In "Mo Better Blues,"
director Spike Lee wrote Denzel
one of his rare romantic leads.
The two locked horns
when Denzel refused to take his shirt off
during an intimate sex scene.
Again, he worried that his children
may be embarrassed by his work.
Denzel Washington had
shaped his Oscar winning career,
not only by the roles he had accepted,
but also by the roles he had refused.
He rejected roles such as a
small part in Terminated Two,
as it was too small.
He passed on the light story
of racism in "Amos and Andrew,"
and walked away from a million dollar fee
for "Love Field" opposite Michelle Pfeiffer
because he didn't like the script.
But the waiting finally paid off
with a role Denzel Gladly accepted,
"Malcolm X."
[instrumental music]
This role would prove to be
the challenge that he was looking for.
Portraying the civil rights activist Malcolm X,
Washington gave a complex
and powerful performance,
and many believe it to be his greatest
and most controversial role to date.
- So "Malcolm X" is widely regarded as one
of the best biopics ever made,
and maybe one of the longest.
But I think it's definitely one of the most rewarding
films you can sit down and watch.
- These are the questions.
These are the questions you and I have to ask.
How did we get this mind?
You're not an American.
You're an African who happens to be an American.
You have to understand the difference.
We didn't come over on the Nina, the Pinta,
and the whatchamacallit.
We didn't land on Plymouth Rock.
Plymouth Rock landed on us, landed right on top of us.
(audience applauding)
- And Spike Lee fought
incredibly hard to make the film.
Originally a White director
had been chosen by the studio,
and Spike kind of did a bit of a bit of a protest,
rightfully claiming that a Black filmmaker
should get the opportunity to make the film.
And he was instated eventually.
And Denzel stayed on board the project.
He'd been cast before Spike Lee became involved.
And Spike Lee said, the only person
he ever wanted to play Malcolm X was Denzel.
He'd played him before on
Broadway when he was younger,
and did just a phenomenal amount of research
into who he was as a man.
And the result was this incredible epic film
spanning the entire course of Malcolm X's life.
So it really was this attempt to capture
an incredibly important
figure in American culture,
in Islamic culture,
in the liberation of African Americans in America.
The way Spike does it is with such energy
and such reverence,
but also, he is critical at times of Malcolm X,
and he doesn't shy away
from the more difficult parts of his life.
And I think that Denzel brings
such a sense of personality to the role,
it doesn't feel like you're watching
him doing an impression of Malcolm X.
It really does feel like you are watching a film
with the man himself.
And it still is regarded to this day
as one of the greatest biopics of all time.
And I think it is that combination
of Denzel's performance and spike's direction
that means people still love the film
and resonate with the film to this day.
- Pacify it.
Why, you can't even get drugs in Harlem
without the White man's permission.
You can't get prostitution in Harlem
without the White man's permission.
You can't get gambling in Harlem
without the White man's permission.
Every time you break the seal on that liquor bottle,
that's a government seal you're breaking.
Oh, I say it, I say it again,
you've been had, you've been took,
you've been hoodwink, bamboozled,
led astray, run amok.
This is what he does.
- [Narrator] The tumultuous production of "Malcolm X"
was plagued with problems,
and made headlines from start to end.
Director Spike Lee faced heated opposition
from a Black Muslim group,
which felt Lee was not
qualified to tell Malcolm X's story.
And his choice to include visuals
of the American flag going up in flames
in the opening of the film
also rubbed some people the wrong way.
- They flew from LA to New York just to convince me
to change and to take out the
opening sequence of the film.
- [Reporter] So why do you think
it ought to have been directed
by an African American?
- Well, the same reason that Francis Ford Coppola
being an Italian American, the nuances,
the flavor he brought to the "Godfather" trilogy.
[hip hop music]
Him being Italian American, he knew,
he was of that background.
- [Narrator] The film was three hours long,
and even ran over budget.
But despite all the hurdles faced by production,
Denzel remained focused
on his meticulous preparation for the role.
He added to what he had learned many years earlier
for his stage portrayal of Malcolm X.
For inspiration, Denzel drew upon memories
of his father's strength behind the pulpit.
Sadly, Denzel's father passed away in 1991,
suffering a stroke.
It devastated Denzel to see the strong man
he remembered as a young child
lying helpless in a Virginia hospital.
Denzel Washington Sr. died at the age of 81.
Although Denzel had not
remained close to his father,
Denzel Sr. had always been proud of his son.
Sadly, Denzel Sr. never got to see
his son's portrayal of Malcolm X,
a character he drew heavy inspiration
from his preaching for.
[hip hop music]
In preparation for the role,
Denzel also trained with the Nation of Islam,
and he gave up liquor and pork.
To look like Malcolm, Denzel lost 20 pounds,
had his hair dyed red and straightened,
and he interviewed Malcolm X's widow
and two of his brothers.
Malcolm X earned Denzel his third Oscar nomination
in just five years.
But this time, he lost the Academy Award to Al Pacino,
who won for "Scent of a Woman."
However, he did win his fourth
NAACP Image Award for his performance.
But the biggest prize for Washington
was the impact that the film had on young people.
- I've gotten tons and tons and tons of mail
from young people who didn't
know much about Malcolm X,
were walking around with X hats on,
who've taken the initiative to learn more
about their history and their culture.
That's the thing I'm proud of,
most proud of about this film,
is that it made young people,
Black and White, and other colors too,
think about their history in this country
and what has happened, how they've been mis-educated,
and to go and learn things for themselves.
I'm real proud of that fact, as I know Spike is as well.
- [Reporter] What is more important to you,
receiving this acclaim from these group of critics
in New York and LA, or from the audience
that goes to see you, that follows your work?
- It has to be the audience.
But the most important thing to me
is making sure that I've done all I can do
to make the part come to life.
That's what's most important.
That's what I do.
That's what I do.
- [Narrator] But Denzel's string of successes
brought him under increased media scrutiny.
In a Barbara Walter special that aired back to back
with the 1993 Oscar telecast,
Denzel made a televised confession.
He appeared to admit to infidelity by saying,
"Temptation is all around and I haven't been perfect."
- Well, listen, my wife is the backbone of our family,
and I'm wise enough to admit that.
- You speak so lovingly of your wife.
I'm not gonna come back in five years
and find out that you're not together.
[soft dramatic music]
I gotta have a little faith in someone.
- I'd never leave my wife.
Being a star and all of that, temptation's all around,
it's all around, and I haven't been perfect.
I'll be quite candid about it.
- What do you mean?
- Well, we've gone through ups and downs
and we're still together, and we're best friends.
- [Narrator] The press latched onto that,
and rumors of his cheating
circulated like wildfire.
For an actor with an untarnished image,
it was an unexpected and rare admission.
Denzel criticized the press
for making a story out of it.
Denzel was always happy to
stop and talk about his career,
but very rarely would he
open up about his personal life.
He felt betrayed.
Denzel tried to ignore all the bad publicity
and dedicated himself even more
to his career and his family.
[soft instrumental music]
That same year, 10 years after they had been married,
Pauletta and Denzel renewed their wedding vows
while on a trip to Africa.
Bishop Desmond Tutu did the honors.
- You never get to meet my wife.
- Well, very nice to meet you.
We talk about you a lot.
- But now you get to... - Yeah, very nice.
- [Narrator] In 1993, the success of three films
diverted the public's attention
away from his personal life.
He sought out roles that would prove
he could hold his own at the box office,
regardless of color.
In a bit of unusual casting,
Denzel tried Shakespeare again,
in Kenneth Branagh's romantic comedy,
"Much Ado About Nothing."
He had always campaigned for the roles he wanted.
But for "The Pelican Brief," it was Julia Roberts
who campaigned to get Denzel
the part of the crusading reporter.
It was originally written for a White actor,
but Julia convinced director Alan Pakula
that Denzel was right for the part.
[soft instrumental music]
Pakula decided before Denzel signed on
that the love scenes of the book
were not going to work in the film.
This fueled speculation that it was a racial issue,
as interracial couples were
still frowned upon at this time.
The director claimed that race
never had anything to do with the decision.
If Hollywood needed to be convinced
that Denzel Washington could
appeal to a mass audience,
"The Pelican Brief" offered proof.
The film grossed nearly $200 million worldwide,
making it an undeniable hit amongst moviegoers.
But the success didn't stop there.
His next hit was just around the corner.
[soft instrumental music]
"Philadelphia," released in 1994,
marked the first time a major studio
produced a film about AIDS
that appealed to a mass audience.
- "Philadelphia" was a really important
film in the early 1990s.
It was the time of the AIDS crisis.
The AIDS crisis was at its height.
So not only were many people dying of AIDS
and were ill with AIDS,
but there was a huge public panic around AIDS
and how contagious it was,
and how people with AIDS should be treated.
There was a huge amount of homophobia around AIDS,
really outspoken homophobia
in a way that's difficult to imagine today.
We've moved away from that a lot.
So Jonathan Demi made "Philadelphia"
as a way of countering prejudice
against people with AIDS,
and raising awareness of AIDS
as a disease that was
causing a lot of discrimination.
Tom Hanks plays a young lawyer who develops AIDS
and is sacked from his job
by his very prejudiced bosses at the law firm.
- Mr. Beckett, come in.
[soft instrumental music]
- It's good to see you again, Counselor.
Judge Tate, Kendall Construction.
- Innocuous.
How are you? What happened to your face?
- I have AIDS.
- Oh.
- Denzel Washington comes into it as the lawyer
who is initially very reluctant
to engage with Hanks.
He doesn't want to take on the case
because he is prejudiced against people with AIDS,
he has all sorts of assumptions
about people with AIDS
and how contagious AIDS is.
And so, he becomes the kind of conscience of the film,
the public conscience of the
film, who's gradually won over
and takes the case, and learns what AIDS is,
and that it's not that contagious
in terms of everyday contact,
and develops a huge amount of sympathy for Tom Hanks.
They're quite close by the end of the film.
And so, it's really the story of Denzel Washington's
awakening to the crisis, and to homophobia,
and that all sounds very worthy.
But of course, he plays it with
a huge amount of charisma,
with humor, with frankness.
It's a really, really important role in the film,
and an important film, I think, in his career.
Denzel Washington undoubtedly brought
a lot of people to see the film
who would not have otherwise seen it.
- They're looking at Mr. Wheeler, Ms. Cornin,
even you, Your Honor.
They're wondering about it.
[dramatic music]
Trust me, I know that they are looking at me
and thinking about it.
So let's just get it on the open.
Let's get it outta the closet.
Because this case is not just about AIDS, is it?
So let's talk about what this case is really all about.
The general public's hatred, our loathing,
our fear of homosexuals.
- Denzel felt he could not
have played the Tom Hanks role
because it might have been too embarrassing
for his school-age son,
although Tom Hanks shared a different perspective.
- If this was 1962 and Rock Hudson
had to pretend to be married
to his publicist secretary,
and Luella Parsons was still
stabbing people in the back
with her newspaper column,
maybe it would be a tough role to take on.
But believe me, in the United States and in the UK,
there is stuff on free TV day in and day out
that make me playing a homosexual
small potatoes in comparison.
- [Narrator] Even so, the role Denzel did choose
was not easy.
He was playing a not so very sympathetic character
who was a good counterpart to Hanks.
The film won Tom Hanks an Oscar.
And although Denzel did not,
the film certainly continued
to raise his prestige as an actor.
The award-winning "Philadelphia" was a hit,
grossing more than $200 million
in theaters around the world.
Following the hits, the
"Pelican Brief" and "Philadelphia,"
Denzel chose another colorblind role,
playing the second in Command man to Gene Hackman
in "Crimson Tide."
Taking in nearly $100 million in the theaters,
"Crimson Tide" continued his run of hits.
[jazz music]
Denzel had a more family oriented movie in mind
for his next project.
His Monday Lane Productions
produced a remake of the
1947 classic, "The Bishop's Wife,"
and renamed it "The Preacher's Wife"
- You ever had your palm read?
Denzel took on Carrie Grant's part as an angel,
and had to do a hard sale to get Whitney Houston
to take on the role of the spirited wife.
Denzel seemed more at home
making a movie with family appeal.
"The Preacher's Wife" was a moderate success,
making $48 million at the box office.
"Glory" director, Ed Zwick called Denzel
back to the military for "Courage Under Fire," in 1996.
20th Century Fox hired Denzel
for the highest salary ever paid
to an African American actor for a dramatic role,
over $10 million.
With his success
came more and more attention from the press,
most of which he reportedly found quite irritating.
People Magazine proclaimed Denzel
as one of the sexiest men alive.
[jazz music]
Denzel dismissed that notion,
claiming that no women ever lined up at his door
when he was a young, man and he must have just aged well.
- So by the end of the 90s,
Denzel had really developed
a incredible reputation
as one of the best actors working of his generation.
He had made "Malcolm X," he'd made "The Hurricane."
He was kind of on top of the world in a lot of aspects,
and was fast becoming really someone
that audiences loved to watch.
- [Narrator] By now, Denzel had become
an accomplished producer and a highly paid actor
in just a few years.
His success and professional
image drew comparisons
over the years to another
handsome African American actor,
Sidney Poitier.
The pair ended up being good friends,
despite never playing in a film together.
"Sidney Poitier told me many, many years ago
that the first four or five movies that you do
will determine how you're perceived in the business,"
Washington said.
The actor then pointed out
that the first movies he ever worked on
meant he was off to the races.
In the spring of 1998, Denzel
teamed up for the third time
with Spike Lee in Lee's tribute
to the game of basketball,
"He Got Game."
In the critically acclaimed performance,
Denzel played a convicted criminal,
a far cry from his usual good guy roles.
In "Training Day," released in 2001,
Washington played a corrupt
and violent police detective,
the performance for which he became
only the second African American actor,
the first being Sidney Sidney Poitier,
to win an Oscar for best Actor.
- In "Training Day," we see Denzel playing
a pretty different character for him.
Up until the point of "Training Day,"
he'd already made this reputation for himself
almost of playing nice guys,
or if not nice guys, very authoritative figures
who were very noble and just.
And now he was playing this corrupt cop,
and not even a little bit corrupt, a very corrupt cop,
who is the antagonist of the film.
And I think this surprised a lot of people,
not because they didn't think that Denzel
was capable of playing such a difficult role,
but because he was so believable and so commanding.
And the film really to this day
is considered one of his best performances.
[jazz music]
- Just throw that in glove box.
- This car is not from the motor pool.
- No, it's not.
Sexy though, isn't it?
So where's the office, back at Division?
- You're in the office, baby.
[hip hop music]
Going up.
[hip hop music]
- [Narrator] In addition to his film work,
Washington occasionally
made time to return to the stage.
In 2005, he starred as Brutus in "Julius Caesar."
Five years later, he appeared
in the Broadway revival
of August Wilson's "Fences,"
a family drama set in the 1950s
that explores issues of identity and racism.
For his performance,
Washington won a Tony Award in 2010.
He later directed and stared
in a film adaptation of the play
alongside his friend and Egot
holder, actress Viola Davis,
and his performance earned him an Oscar nomination.
- "Fences" is a play about a former baseball player
who has become a sanitation worker.
And it's a story that Denzel was very familiar with
because he had played the
role previously on Broadway
and had worked with Viola Davis,
who played his in the play,
and it's something that I think he felt very strongly
needed to be moved to the big screen,
or deserved to be moved to the big screen.
And it's quite a tough watch at times.
I think that Viola Davis and Denzel
are such a compelling presence together on screen.
And it confronts a lot of difficult truths
about living as a Black couple in 1950s Pittsburgh,
and the kind of harshness of that life.
- We're not talking about no baseball.
- Oh, you're not listening to me.
I'm trying to explain it to you the best way I know how.
It's not easy for me to admit
that I've been standing in the same place for 18 years.
- Well, I've been standing with you.
I've been right here with you, Troy.
I got a life too.
I gave 18 years of my life to
stand in the same spot as you.
Don't you think I ever wanted another things?
Don't you think I had dreams and hopes?
What about my life? What about me?
- It really felt like you were watching
these two kind of powerhouse actors
giving their all to the source material.
And I think that directing theater on the big screen
is always quite difficult.
But Denzel, I think,
because he has such experience as an actor on screen,
on stage, behind the camera,
I think he really was the best person
to realize this dream of bringing the film together.
- Some critics have said that Denzel Washington
transcends race, and I get what they mean,
that he's an actor who is popular
and can take on any kind of role
regardless of the race of the character.
But I also think it's important
that he is African American
and he has the stature that he has in Hollywood.
'Cause really, there aren't
that many other actors like him.
There aren't that many leading
African American male actors
who don't play comedy,
and who have the kind of gravitas that he has.
So I think he's a really
important presence in Hollywood.
- [Narrator] After playing Robert McCall,
a mysterious vigilante,
in the action thriller, "The Equalizer," in 2014,
Washington appeared in "The
Magnificent Seven" in 2016,
a remake of the 1960 classic western.
In 2017, he starred in "Roman J. Israel,"
portraying an idealistic Los Angeles lawyer
who begins to question his principles.
For his performance,
Washington received his eighth
Oscar nomination for acting.
He then reprized his role as Robert McCall
in "The Equalizer 2" in 2018,
proving that he had more than the capabilities
to carry a successful film franchise.
- In "The Equalizer,"
he plays a man of extraordinary humility,
quietness, moral centeredness,
all the things that we might expect
from any Washington character.
But we're always aware that
behind that tranquil surface,
there is a man who is capable
of extraordinary violence,
[piano music]
and capable of saving anyone from anything.
There is no corner that he's backed into
that he can't work his way out of.
It's really quite an extraordinary role.
And I think as the film goes by, you just accept that,
that he will always survive,
no matter what is thrown at him, he will overcome it.
And there's a kind of clarity to the character
that makes that believable.
- Is that a Heckler & Koch?
[suspenseful music]
- This? - Yeah.
(speaking in foreign language)
- What is he saying?
- I don't fucking know.
- Can I see it?
- Oh, you want to see my gun?
- Yes and no.
- Alright, alright, alright. Whoa, whoa, whoa!
You're so fucking nuts, fuck!
- All right, everybody settle down.
- [Narrator] Also in 2021, Washington starred
with Frances McDormand in "The Tragedy of Macbeth,"
Joel Cohen's adaptation of Shakespeare's play.
Washington received an Academy Award nomination
for his portrayal of the titular character.
- One of the really remarkable
things about his later career
is that he keeps returning to Broadway
to work as stage actor.
So he's an actor who believes
in acting in that traditional sense.
It's clearly a way of kind of proving your chops
as an actor.
What he could do now as an actor in his 60s
is sit back and take the best film roles.
But he's clearly more ambitious
and more driven than that.
- [Narrator] In 2016, Washington received
the Cecil B. DeMille Award,
a Golden Globe Award for
outstanding contributions
to the world of entertainment.
- Now, it's odd how many of these
immortals of the silver screen, of the firmament,
need only one name
to conjure the gestalt of their great artistry.
In women, it's names like
Garbo, Hepburn, Stanwick, Lauren.
[piano music]
With men, it's Bogart, Cagney, Gable.
Now, you can check in the one-two combination punch
of Gary Cooper or John Wayne, but a solo tag is the norm.
Brando, Clift, Poitier,
McQueen, Hoffman, De Niro, Pacino.
Now the cliche, the list goes on and on,
does not apply here, because it doesn't.
The list is finite, the club is exclusive,
but it includes the actor
who is to being given the
Cecil B. DeMille Award tonight.
(audience applauding)
- [Narrator] He later was awarded
the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2022.
Denzel felt no constraints
about his personal responsibilities.
He is known to be very generous
with his wealth and his time.
[soft instrumental music]
- Denzel has become one of the most well-known
and well-liked figures in Hollywood.
I think it's very hard to find anyone
with a bad word to say against him,
because he's such a hardworking man,
and so committed to storytelling and to craft,
but also to helping other actors
and to championing other actors.
If you ever see him interviewed,
he's a very generous interviewee, and very funny.
And he has really managed to maintain
this kind of levelheadedness
throughout his career in
Hollywood, which is no small thing.
- [Reporter] Speaking of actors,
did anything surprise you
about Denzel, working with him?
- No.
I mean, I know his talent.
I knew his caliber of talent.
I've been watching him forever.
So I wasn't really surprised at anything.
I was happy at how generous he was,
and how accessible he was as an actor in the scenes.
It just raised everything to that next level.
- He's been married to his wife for a very long time.
In Hollywood, that is incredibly impressive.
And now we're seeing his kids
come through the system as well
with a love for acting and filmmaking.
I think that that proves that
Denzel has done a lot right
to kind of show them that there's a place
in this world for their stories,
and for them to have the same
love for the craft as he does.
- Denzel Washington is an actor and a star
who has no scandal attached to him whatsoever.
He lives a very wholesome life,
especially by Hollywood standards.
He's a family man, he's a churchgoer.
People who know him talk
about the strength of his faith.
And the fiasco at the Oscars
when Will Smith hit Chris Rock,
it was Denzel Washington
that Will Smith then turned to
and took solace from.
And Denzel Washington not only consoled him,
but gave him a kind of spiritual advice
about what had happened.
That is, when you were at your most powerful,
the devil comes for you and undermines you.
And I think that's how Will Smith
felt about what had happened.
And having Denzel Washington's advice
helped him come through that moment.
- He's also known for supporting a ranger of charities,
such as the Fisher House Foundation
and the Nelson Mandela Fund.
And he really is someone who
cares about using his platform,
but in a kind of behind the scenes way.
He doesn't want a ton of credit or glory.
He just wants to use the
money and success that he's had
to help other people.
- [Narrator] He donated two and a half million dollars
for a new building at the
church he and his family attend.
He also stayed involved
with the Boys and Girls Club of America,
becoming the national
spokesman for the organization
which had kept him off the streets many years ago.
Whether as an actor, producer, director,
or simply as a human being,
Denzel Washington pursued
his goals with integrity,
and a genuine desire to spread goodness
and constantly challenge himself.
- I wish I was the smartest them.
[laughter]
- When the history of Hollywood
is written in future years,
there'll be two African American actors
who really stand out.
One of them will be Sidney Poitier,
who was really the first leading man,
leading man who was African American,
and the second will, of course, be Denzel Washington.
And Denzel Washington redefined
what an African American actor can do in Hollywood.
Sidney Poitier tended to play characters
who did not trouble or challenge the mainstream,
that is White American audience.
Whereas Denzel Washington plays
much more ambitious, challenging roles.
He's not there to make the White American audience
feel better about themselves.
He plays strong, powerful,
at times aggressive, and very moral,
morally upstanding African-American roles.
And I think that's the biggest part of his legacy,
the way in which he changed
what African American actors can do in Hollywood.
[soft instrumental music]
[soft instrumental music]
[soft instrumental music]
[upbeat music]