An on-screen legend deserves to be paired up with talent on par with their excellence. ForDenzel Washington, meeting those standards is unfairly high. Still, it’s alarming to scroll through the legendary actor’s filmography and learn thathe has never worked with many of our most celebrated directors of the last 50 years.As the rare person who is both a renowned dramatic actor and captivating movie star for the masses, Washington is incredibly versatile, giving you bothGladiator IIand hisupcoming reunion withSpike Lee,Highest 2 Lowest, and giving it his best no matter the circumstances. I’d like to believe that the only reason Washington has yet to work withSteven Spielberg,Quentin Tarantino, orDavid Fincheris because of a grave communication error. Although he doesn’t need to prove anything,Washington would thrive by lending his stardom and persona to these visionaries.
Denzel Washington Remains a Major Star in His 70s
The 70-year-old Denzel Washington is as commercially viable and culturally relevant as ever, which makes Apple’s decision toforgo a wide release forHighest 2 Lowestutterly perplexing. Even though hisEqualizerseries is financially successful and overall well-liked, Washington’s last decade feels like a slight underachievement based on his high standards alone, as few people would’ve predicted that he would lean heavily into the action genre. As he reaches the back nine of his career,Washington deserves an authoritative stamp that certifies his place as the finest actor of his generation.
What These Legendary Directors Could Do For Denzel Washington’s Career and Image
If there’s one person synonymous with the concept of Hollywood filmmaking, it would be Steven Spielberg, the master of the modern blockbuster and architect of dreams. In many ways, Denzel is the picture-perfectrepresentation of a dramatic actorwith immense gravitas and chameleonic tendencies, and his name and presence are as grand, if not bigger, than cinema itself.A team-up between Washington and Spielberg may have been too big for any screen to handle, but as a director who elevatedHarrison FordandTom Hanksinto global icons, his ability to tap into the populist appeal of movie stars is unmatched.
Whether it’s a junky cop thriller or a chamber drama, Washington makes everything feel like an event of Spielbergian magnitude. In the ’90s, Spielberg wasinitially attached to directWashington’s eventual 2021serial killer mystery-thriller,The Little Things,John Lee Hancock’s film that was stuck in development hell. However, Spielberg, coming offSchindler’s List, was averse to directing something “too dark.”
‘Flight’ to ‘Training Day’: 11 Best Denzel Washington Performances, Ranked
“King Kong ain’t got nothing on me!”
If there’s anyone who understands movie stars better than Spielberg, it would be Quentin Tarantino, a director and cinephile obsessed with stardom and cinema history. Celebrated for his ability to revive aged and forgotten stars likeJohn Travolta,Pam Grier, andDavid Carradine, Tarantino also deploys A-listers likeLeonardo DiCaprioandBrad Pittin anew light by lending them an untapped layer of darkness.When working with Tarantino, stars give themselves over to him, and their sacrifice usually pays dividends through critical acclaim or Oscars. The tension betweenWashington’s impeccable statureand Tarantino’s exacting vision would pop on the screen.
Whether in a Western or a crime thriller, he would provide Denzel with an opportunity to be funny and menacing. The closest thing we got to a collaboration was withCrimson Tide, the Washington-Gene Hackmansubmarine thriller that saw uncredited rewrites by Tarantino. TheTony Scottfilmspawned a feudbetween the two due to Washington’s unhappiness with Tarantino’s racially charged dialogue, but they have since mended fences and have expressed interest in teaming up.
A David Fincher and Denzel Washington Collab Could Be Just What We Need
Being put through the David Fincher wringer and his notoriously high number of takes is not for the faint of heart, but it’s a challenge that could inspire and reinvigorate Washington’s dramatic chops. On paper, Fincher’s rigorous demands and Washington’s no-nonsense, professional approach to acting would clash, but apalpable tension between two unwavering visionaries creates brilliant art.Washington is a natural at playing cops and various prodigious figures hindered by obsessive desires who are undone by their quest for something unattainable, a trait Fincher has extracted from his actors. This non-existent collaboration was the closest to manifesting, asWashington wasoffered the role of Detective David Mills inSeven. However, the actor turned it down, calling the film (justifiably) “too much” and “demonic,” but he now regrets declining the part.
In the grand scheme of things, Denzel Washington’s track record of working alongside accomplished and auteur directors would make the average actor envious. The list, which includes Spike Lee,Jonathan Demme,Sidney Lumet,Norman Jewison,Ridley Scott,Robert Zemeckis, andJoel Coen, certainly doesn’t indicate an actor disinterested in a singular vision. However, there’s no denying the transformative andastounding potential of Washingtonand all his glory in the hands of Steven Spielberg, Quentin Tarantino, or David Fincher.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
A Scottish lord becomes convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife supports him in his plans of seizing power.
