Denzel Washington Was Worried About Getting Killed Filming ‘Malcolm X’
Actor Denzel Washington starred as the titular character Malcolm X in Spike Lee’s critically acclaimed biopic. The movie was one of the most important features in Washington’s career, and it also might’ve been one of the most intimidating.
Washington and Lee didn’t have the typical worries filming Malcolm X like underperforming or bad reviews. Instead, doing the feature would have them scared for their lives.
Denzel Washington spoke on the dangers of filming ‘Malcolm X’
Washington was already familiar with Malcolm X prior to shooting the 1992 picture. He was cast as the iconic figure in the play When the Chickens Come Home to Roost. Up until that point, although Washington knew of Malcolm, his knowledge was very limited.
“I didn’t have a view of Malcolm then,” Washington once told The New York Times.
After doing a little more research on Malcolm, Washington realized the weight of the role he was playing.
“I remember feeling two ways: Like this was heavy, mean stuff and also like this was helping me get some things off my chest,” he said. “There was something invigorating about being able to say things you felt. I remember thinking what it must have felt like to be so free to be able to say anything. It must have made for tension.”
It was a role that might’ve gotten heavier for The Equalizer star when he had to play Malcolm on the big screen. Not only due to the pressure of playing Malcolm, but due to the controversies the movie touched on.
”We didn’t know what was going to happen. Spike was bringing up stuff that was touchy — I mean, really touchy — and with lots of different people, so you never knew where it was going to come from,” Washington once told Entertainment Weekly.
Speaking to Time Out, Washington asserted that there was a point where he and Lee were genuinely concerned for their safety.
“S***, we were worrying about getting killed. You’re talking about politics, we were trying to stay alive,” he said.
“Put it this way: we were stepping on some serious toes. And I’m not just talking about the studio,” Washington added.
How Denzel Washington responded to the film’s controversies
It was noted that there was some considerable pushback against Lee’s interpretation of Malcolm X’s legacy. Some even tried to prevent the movie from getting made, feeling that Lee might’ve misrepresented the historical leader. The controversies, however, had no bearing on Washington’s commitment to the film.
“I’m not Malcolm X, but the same God that moved Malcolm X can move me. This is a story about the evolution of a man,” Washington said. “It’s a spiritual, philosophical, political evolution. My prayer is to illustrate that and have that be some kind of a healing for people. Some who knew Malcolm want to put him on a pedestal, but that’s not changing anything.”
The Training Day actor hoped that the movie had a deeper influence that could perhaps change someone’s life for the better.
“We want to reach that young person who is down and out, who may be wearing the X but doesn’t really understand what it means or what this man stood for,” Washington said. “We want kids to see how Malcolm was able to turn his life around, to see that Malcolm’s solutions changed as he changed. We want kids to say, ‘Maybe I can do that, too.’ Malcolm said that if you are taught you are worthless, you will think you are worthless. We have to turn that around.”
Spike Lee felt Denzel Washington was snubbed by the Oscars for ‘Malcolm X’
Washington belongs to a rare group of actors that won two Oscars. But although he was nominated for Malcolm X, he wasn’t awarded the prize back then. He’d lose that night to Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman, which Lee felt wasn’t the right call.
“I’m not the only one who thinks Denzel was robbed on that one. But there were a lot of people involved that deserve recognition. We did get two nominations, Ruth Carter for Costume Design, and Denzel,” Lee reflected in an interview with DVD Talk.
