Denzel Washington Refuses to Compete With Other Actors for Film Roles
Actor Denzel Washington, considered a leading man, normally doesn’t have to audition for film projects. And it’s a privilege the actor appreciates, seeing as he really doesn’t like fighting other stars for movies.
Denzel Washington doesn’t like having to fight for film roles
Washington, like most A-list stars, has built up enough good will that he no longer has to audition for film roles. According to the actor’s own memory, he hasn’t auditioned since the 80s.
“The last time I auditioned for a role was the 1980s,” Washington once said according to The Grio. “I did a little screen test for Cry Freedom in 1986, that’s the last time I remember.”
Ironically, he tested for the role after rejecting a project that was ready-made for him. Washington has told the story about the movie where he was supposed to play a young criminal that couldn’t seem to die. This included electrocuting Washington’s character and hanging him.
Since he was offered a large salary, doing the feature was tempting. But after advice from fellow actor Sydney Poitier, he opted to test for Cry Freedom as well.
“It was terrible. They said, ‘It’s a comedy!’ Yeah right. So I didn’t do that. They were going to pay me a lot of money and I really thought about it, but I didn’t do it. I waited and six months later I got Cry Freedom,” Washington once told The Talks.
In hindsight, this was a wise move on Washington’s part, as the role nabbed him one of many Oscar nominations. Since then, Washington really hasn’t had to audition for any movie roles, which he’s been thankful for.
“I’ve never fought for a role,” Washington once said according to The Free Library. “What’s mine is mine. And what ain’t, ain’t. I don’t go out and fight – I don’t know who I’d fight anyway. At this point in my career, they just send them to me and I read them. I have a good agent with good taste. It’s as simple as that.”
Denzel Washington wanted younger actors to learn from his experience with ‘Cry Freedom’
Washington seemed to learn the value of patience and resilience when he auditioned for Cry Freedom. His career might’ve gone in a completely different direction if he took the comedy feature. And it was a tale he felt younger actors could learn from.
“That’s what I tell young actors. ‘You don’t have to compromise. Go do some theater and wait,’” Washington said.
The Training Day star felt one of the pitfalls of younger, more contemporary actors was that they lacked theater experience. This meant that, although they were becoming stars, there were less trained actors than in Washington’s generation.
“It’s very unfortunate in this accelerated society and business that a lot of young kids don’t get a chance to develop,” Washington said. “They have the look or whatever and they’re 20 years old and boom, they’re big stars and they never really learned how to act. The actors I respect are all from the theater. Viola Davis, Meryl Streep, they’re both from the theater, you know?”
Denzel Washington’s refusal to chase after film roles have cost him one of his most desired roles
Washington usually has his pick of film roles, but even he’s admitted to making a few ill-informed mistakes. The actor famously turned down David Fincher’s Se7en because of its dark nature. After he saw what Brad Pitt did in the role, he regretted his decision. He was also offered George Clooney’s role in Michael Clayton, but didn’t trust the director.
“With Clayton, it was the best material I had read in a long time, but I was nervous about a first-time director, and I was wrong. It happens,” Washington once told GQ.
He also had the opportunity to be in Full Metal Jacket. But at the time, he couldn’t see the iconic movie’s script. Washington quickly stopped pursuing the film after that restriction, and his role went to Willem Dafoe.
“That and Full Metal Jacket. They were like, ‘Well, [Kubrick] doesn’t send out his scripts.” I was like, ‘Well, then what do you want me to do?’ Platoon, I wanted to play the part Willem Dafoe played,” he said.
