Denzel Washington Once Gave Dakota Fanning the Silent Treatment in ‘Man on Fire’
Actor Denzel Washington once teamed up with Twilight star Dakota Fanning for the 2004 feature Man on Fire. In the feature, Washington confided that he mostly stayed away from Fanning for the sake of getting into character. Which Fanning would later tell her director about.
Denzel Washington kept her distance from Dakota Fanning in ‘Man on Fire’
Washington played a deeply tormented character in the film Man on Fire directed by the late Tony Scott. The actor inhabited the role of ex-CIA agent John Creasy in the adaptation of Philip Nicholson’s famous novel. It also marked the first time Washington worked alongside Fanning, who his character would help bodyguard in the project.
“She’s a she’s a hoot. She’s a character, you know? And she’s a spirit, a very powerful spirit. And in such a young little body and she’s very bright and honest as a human being and as an actor. And it’s refreshing, you know? You hear about, ‘oh don’t work with children and animals,’ whatever, but she’s not a child. She’s a young person, yes, but she’s very mature,” Washington said in a 2004 interview with Future Movies.
But the nature of Washington’s Man on Fire character wouldn’t allow him to get too close to Fanning on set. Which might have briefly bothered his co-star, who decided to give Washington the same silent treatment.
“Dakota is great, mature and very charming. I was trying to get into character so I was keeping my distance from her and so she told Tony that I wasn’t talking to her so she wouldn’t talk to me either. I am convinced that she is actually 40. Chris Walken is great, most of our dialogue was improvised. We got along very well,” he once told Phase 9.
Denzel Washington wouldn’t consider Dakota Fanning a ‘child actor’
Washington hadn’t worked with too many child actors when he collaborated with Fanning. Fanning was only 9 years old at the time, and Washington was impressed by the young actor’s ability back then.
“Dakota is a child, but she is a wonderful actor. And that’s what we were doing together: acting. I don’t know what a child actor is. She’s an actor who’s a child,” he said in a 2004 interview with IGN.
Likewise, Fanning also sung high praises for Washington.
“He was so nice and I couldn’t wait to see him every day. I was so honored to get to see him every day,” she said. “He is so focused and he is always trying to try new things. I want to be like him one day.”
The silent treatment between the two might not have lasted long, as Washington and Fanning couldn’t help bond over the course of the movie.
“We were together a lot, just the two of us, especially in the car, so there’s a lot of time to talk and joke. It was just the way you get to know anyone else. She’s a very engaging and interesting person and a very smart young woman. You start having little conversations. She’s very professional,” he said.
Denzel Washington and Dakota Fanning reunited for ‘The Equalizer 3’
Man on Fire wouldn’t be the only time Fanning and Washington would collaborate. The pair are scheduled to team up again in the upcoming Equalizer 3, which is scheduled for a September 1, 2023 release date. Many details surrounding the film’s premise has been kept under wraps.
But similar to Man on Fire, Washington will most likely be playing the role of protector again. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fanning briefly commented on her excitement over reuniting with Washington again after so many years.
“I am just so exited to be here and to be a part of this film,” she said. “Getting to work with Denzel once is a dream come true and twice is… I don’t even know.”
