Shemar Moore Once Said He Stole a Love Interest From Denzel Washington
Actor Shemar Moore has worked alongside fellow Hollywood stars like Tyler Perry, Jamie Foxx and others. But one celebrity he hasn’t collaborated with is Denzel Washington. Although they’ve yet to share a screen together, Moore quipped that there was a mutual co-worker he couldn’t help brag about taking from the Training Day star.
Shemar Moore quipped that he and Denzel Washington had 1 actor in common
My Name Is Earl alum Nadine Velazquez became another one of Washington’s on-screen love interests when she starred alongside him for Flight. In the 2012 drama, Washington played a character so haunted that it even disturbed his wife. However, behind-the-scenes, the veteran star was anything but disturbing to his Flight dance partner.
The pair also further bonded when Washington took Velazquez out on a date. However, their evening together wasn’t just so Washington could get to know his co-star. It was also meant to make her feel comfortable about her potential nude scenes in the movie. But despite the rapport they developed, Velazquez and Washington haven’t reunited on the big screen yet so far. But, she did end up in a film with another leading man in Shemar Moore.
She and Moore worked together in Bounce Back, which spent years in developmental purgatory until Moore financed the project himself. Having already been familiar with Velazquez’s work, he decided to cast her as his love interest in the rom-com.
“I got Nadine Velazquez. I like to joke that I stole her from from Denzel Washington. She was in the movie Flight, so it’s just fun to say, ‘Oh yeah I got you from Denzel. Come play with me,’” Moore said in aninterview with Black Film.
Denzel Washington inspired Shemar Moore to transition away from ‘Criminal Minds’
Despite the joke, there seems to be no rivalry between Moore and Washington. Instead, the S.W.A.T. star admired Washington’s and other actors’ ability to transcend race in the film industry, which Moore also aspired to do.
“That’s why I can look at Brad Pitt and at the same time look at Denzel. You know, I look at Halle Berry, who has been judged and celebrated for her shell. She’s had to fight her fight to be taken seriously and do Monster’s Ball and things like that. So yeah, the reason I respect that is because I can relate to only be taken at face value, to be stuck in a so-called box because of the physical attributes and the whole bit,” Moore once said, according to Black Film.
Moore would actually follow in his predecessor’s footsteps when he left Criminal Minds. Although the show had been good to him, Moore had to branch out of his comfort zone to fulfill his own creative ambitions. He likened his decision to Washington’s bold choice to leave St. Elsewhere to expand his own career.
“I knew a few years ago that I was going to be looking to make a transition. I thought of leaving Criminal Minds and trying to take the next step. The example that I use is once a upon a time Denzel Washington was on a television show called St. Elsewhere, and he was a pretty big deal doing his thing, but he took a leap of faith and then Glory happened and now look at who he’s become,” Moore said.
