Ahead of the release of “Gladiator II,” starring Academy Award-winner Denzel Washington, the “60 Minutes: A Second Look” podcast team searched through years of interviews with the acclaimed actor, digging up never before aired footage from throughout Washington’s career.
Washington spoke with Ed Bradley in 1999, for a 60 Minutes piece aired in 2000, about why he didn’t initially like being compared to Sidney Poitier and why he wasn’t being offered romantic films. They spoke again in 2005, when Washington was performing on Broadway. Washington was also interviewed by Bill Whitaker in 2016, when they discussed his approach to directing “Fences,” whether he would ever join a superhero franchise and the role of race in his work.
Denzel Washington in 2000
Bradley first profiled Washington in 2000. Washington had done more than 20 movies by that point, but very few romantic films.
“I’m not offered any,” Washington said at the time, adding that he thought it came down to business.
“I think that if it was a love story with myself and a Black woman, it’s not big business in Hollywood,” Washington said. “So they, maybe they’re not interested.”
While already an Oscar winner in the best supporting actor category at the time of the interview, Washington had not yet taken home the Academy Award for best actor. He was nominated for his role in that year’s “The Hurricane” and was previously up for the award in 1993 for “Malcolm X,” going up against Clint Eastwood, Al Pacino, Robert Downey Jr. and Stephen Rea. He recalled not expecting to win in ’93.
“Because I knew, I could see, I could read the leaves. I could see what was happening,” Washington said. “You know, there was a lot of, there was a groundswell of, uh, you know, Al Pacino had been, has, had been nominated for the eighth time. Had he not won, he would have been 0 for 8. You know, I voted for Al Pacino. I wanted to see him win.”
By 2000, Oscar or no Oscar, many considered Washington one of the greats, but it was another actor whose name came up time and time again. Sidney Poitier was the first Black performer to win the Academy Award for best actor in 1963. Initially, Washington said he would get upset when he heard the comparison.
“And the reason was, I said, you know, isn’t it a shame that there’s only one person to be compared to? You know, I would almost be insulted by that to say, ‘Oh, you’re like the next Sidney.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, you mean there’s been nobody in between? He’s the only one? Who else was acting while Sidney was acting? Who else is acting now? I’m not one,’ I don’t, I’m not too keen on that,'” Washington said.
However, Washington didn’t feel like he had to carry the torch.
“There are other actors now like Sam Jackson, or Lawrence Fishburne, or Michael Wright, or Will Smith. You know, and other young actors coming along,” Washington said. “I’m not the only one — I’m not even the biggest one of that group!”
Denzel Washington in 2005
Bradley interviewed Washington again in 2005. At the time, Washington was on Broadway, appearing in a modern day production of Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar.” He played Brutus, one of the leaders of the plot to kill Caesar.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to get back on the stage, to get back to my roots,” Washington said at the time. “And I get so few opportunities to get on the stage, So when I do, I really like tackling Shakespeare, which is the toughest and the most rewarding.”
Washington was making big money for acting, but he was also venturing into the world of directing with “Antwone Fisher,” which he directed and starred in. Bradley asked if Washington preferred acting or directing.
“I look at Clint Eastwood as the model. That’s, I like the way he’s doing things and that’s how I’d like to do it,” Washington said. “Just, you know, segue right on into, into more and more filmmaking.”
Denzel Washington in 2016
In 2016, Bill Whitaker interviewed Washington while he was in the middle of directing and acting in the film adaptation of August Wilson’s play, “Fences.” Wilson insisted on a Black director for “Fences.” At the time, Washington told Whitaker that for him, it was not so much about race as it was about culture.
“I’m sure Scorsese could have directed ‘Schindler’s List.’ And Spielberg probably could have directed ‘Goodfellas,'” he said.
He went on to explain: “You know, there’s things specific to the Italian American culture that Scorsese understands that you and I may not understand or Spielberg may not understand. And there are things specific to Jewish American or whatever culture that you and I may not understand that Spielberg would understand,” Washington said, adding, “So I know what it smells like when hair is being hot combed on a Sunday morning when my sister’s getting ready to go to church or something. There’s a particular smell that’s specific to our culture, I think.”
By 2016, Washington was fronting big budget movies like “The Equalizer,” “American Gangster” and remakes of “The Manchurian Candidate” and “The Magnificent Seven.” Studio executives told Whitaker that Washington was a game changer, an actor who defied categorization and had appeal across the board.
“I guess you can cultivate it to a degree, but fundamentally, I’m just trying to be the best actor I can be. To do the best I can with the ability that I have,” Washington said during the 2016 interview.
They also touched on superhero movies, but Washington felt he “may be a little beyond the tights years.”
Denzel Washington now
Washington will turn 70 in late December, and will have been acting for nearly 50 years. Despite his success and experience, he says “Gladiator II,” also starring Paul Mescal, is the biggest film he has ever worked on. He stars as Macrinus, a wealthy arms dealer hungry for power.
“Every scene I did with him was never how I expected it to go,” Mescal told podcast host Seth Doane during a “CBS Sunday Morning” interview. Mescal called it a dream and said it was “very thrilling to be five feet in front of his face watching him do that.”
Next year, Washington will return to Broadway to star in “Othello.”
