Denzel Washington 2

already received the most Oscars (two) and

the most Academy Award nominations (fi ve)

of any actor of color in the annals of the

motion picture industry. Some point to his

sense of priorities, his ordinary/everyman

disposition, and his undying devotion to his

family, whom he has fi ercely cordoned off

from media scrutiny.

“Acting for me is like making a living. But

it’s not my life,” he says. And while many

other stars have subsisted on Hollywood

fame, mone and stature, while their families

suffered from emotional malnourishment,

Washington has sidestepped fame’s

delectable and sometimes hypnotic

trappings. He simply has something that

provides infi nitely more sustenance. “My

wife, my children…that’s life. That’s the

miracle of what life’s all about.”

For Washington, life is all about cheering

on his oldest son, 23-year-old John David.

He was frequently spotted cheering at

Morehouse College football games, prior to

John’s David’s being drafted by the St. Louis

Rams in 2006. Life is about nurturing the

scholastic genius of his eldest daughter,

20-year-old Katia, who is now attending

Yale University. It’s about raising his twins,

16-year-olds Olivia and Malcolm, the latter

being named for the fi ery civil rights leader

Malcolm X. Life is about renewing his

commitment to the woman of his dreams,

Pauletta, the woman he met in 1977 on

the set of his fi rst fi lm role, Wilma, the story

of legendary track star Wilma Rudolph. In

1995, the couple renewed their wedding

vows in South Africa. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the

venerated South African apartheid abolitionist, offi ciated the

ceremony. Life is about laughing about Halloween trick-or-

treat visits from baseball megastar Barry Bonds and 100 of

Bonds’ friends. Or it’s simply hanging out with the families of

Magic Johnson and Samuel L. Jackson in the same Beverly

Hills neighborhood. His devotion and zealous guarding of

personal relationships, as well as the sustenance he has

received from them, may have helped him avoid becoming

prey to scandal-seeking tabloids. There was the brief editorial

hiccup about an alleged tryst with Out of Time co-star Sanaa

Lathan. But that brief fl are-up of a rumor quickly died for lack

of oxygen and credibility.

While superstars of many genres are begrudgingly admired

for their unparalleled skills but are about as cuddly as a pissed-

off porcupine, Washington comes off as warm and likeable.

Some call it dignity, but dignity, Washington explains, is not

something he packs along in his back pocket and surgically

inserts into his characters. The dignity Washington exudes is

simply an extension of his innate personality, he told rolling

out TV. “I just bring myself to the role. I don’t know how to

play dignifi ed,” he says on the red carpet in Los Angeles, one

week after the New York premiere. “I just bring myself to the

role and try to bring the role to me.”

And Washington brings it like few ever have in Hollywood

history. It’s this indefi nable intangible that makes his screen

presence so searing and his portrayals so believable. The

evidence abounds in such characters as Herman Boone in

the $100 million box-offi ce smash, Remember the Titans.

Or in his Academy Award-nominated performances as

Malcolm X in the fi lm of the same name, and Reuben Carter

in Hurricane. Then there was his critically acclaimed role as

Steven Biko in Cry Freedom.

Now there is the prize role of Frank Lucas in the American

Gangster fi lm that features enough award winners to stock

a hardware store. In addition to Washington, the fi lm’s stars

include Russell Crowe (Oscar, Gladiator); Cuba Gooding

Jr. (Oscar, Jerry Maguire); and Grammy-winning rapper

Common. The fi lm was produced by Brian Grazer (Oscar,

Gladiator); directed by Ridley Scott (Oscar, Gladiator); and

written by Steven Zaillian (Oscar, Schindler’s List). Grammy

winner Jay-Z posted up on the motion picture’s soundtrack.

Since Training Day forever changed the perception of

the good-guy-hero roles that Washington was known for,

he has repeatedly stated that he’ll take any role that comes

to him, as long as it’s good. Washington, whose trademark

has been good guy roles, as in the highly acclaimed fi lm

Glory (for which he won his fi rst Academy Award), and the

much lauded The Pelican Brief, Remember the Titans, The

Preacher’s Wife, Courage Under Fire and Philadelphia, is as

apt to revel in deliciously wicked roles, like when he portrayed

an unscrupulous cop in Training Day, which won him an

Oscar for Best Actor.

“I wasn’t hesitant at all [to play the outlaw Lucas]. A good

story is a good story. Before Training Day, I hadn’t really been

offered that kind of role,” he explains. “So, after Training Day,

that was all I was offered. Not all, that’s not true, but then I was

offered more [of] that kind of thing. It comes down to good

material, great actors to work with and [a] great fi lmmaker.”

cover storyWashington’s Capital:

Denzel Washington has not only become one of

the most respected and acclaimed actors of his

generation; he’s also one of the most bankable*:

*courtesy Box Offi ce Mojo

CharacterDevelopment:Even in his fi lm debut,

(the highly forgettable

lightweight comedy

Carbon Copy), Denzel

Washington has always

exuded a commanding

screen presence. Matching the intense dignity

of Sidney Poitier with the gritty realism of Marlon

Brando, Washington’s potent combination of

everyman as well as the leading man, have given

him a considerable following. But more than that,

Washington’s versatility as an actor has always

brought a certain dignity and honesty to potentially

controversial roles. His turn as a bitter former

slave in Glory garnered his fi rst Oscar statue, and

in Malcolm X, he turned a man many perceived

to be an intense fi rebrand

into a vulnerable confl icted

— but still commanding

civil rights leader. He’s

portrayed a bigoted lawyer

forced to confront his own

prejudices in Philadelphia,

forcing the nation in general, (and many African

Americans in particular), to face the reality of AIDS

and homophobia; and even brought gravitas to

the despicable Detective Alonzo Harris in 2002’s

Training Day, which earned Washington his second

Academy Award win. Those Oscar wins meant

a lot for the actor himself, but even more for his

peers — and the community.

“The majority of the Academy are white

Americans, and white American actors are going

to win,” fellow actor Will Smith acknowledged in

2002. “The breakthrough is an acknowledgment

of what the level of work truly is.”

Denzel’s ‘level of work’ has always carried an air

of importance. The inherent dignity of Washington;

a man who is true to himself, and always true to

the character, is what has made him so captivating

in the 30-plus years of his career. If Tom Hanks

is the likeable ‘regular guy’ and Will Smith is the

charming ladies’ man, then Denzel Washington is

the embodiment of both; the dignifi ed statesman

who breathes life into every role. –todd williams

Film

Déjà Vu:

Inside Man:

Man On Fire:

Training Day:

Remember the Titans

The Bone Collector

Courage Under Fire

Philadelphia

Malcolm X

Gross

$64,038,616

$88,513,495

$77,911,774

$76,631,907

$115,654,751

$66,518,655

$59,031,057

$77,446,440

$48,169,910

19 www.rollingout.com/november 08, 2007