Denzel Washington Reveals His Favorite Filming Experience Ever!

Denzel Washington stands out as one of the most gifted actors of his era. With two Oscars under his belt, he has portrayed a range of characters—from the tough vigilante in ‘Equalizer’ to Macbeth, and from a corrupt cop in ‘Training Day’ to a sympathetic hostage-taker in ‘John Q’, a wrongfully accused boxer in ‘Hurricane Carter’, and a homophobic lawyer defending a gay man fired for his sexual orientation in ‘Philadelphia’.

An Iconic Role

Yet, none of his roles have left quite the impression as his portrayal of Malcolm X in Spike Lee’s 1992 film. Speaking to critic Roger Ebert that year, Washington expressed that Lee’s film was “the only film I didn’t want to end (…). Particularly the speech scenes. Once I got into it, I didn’t want to stop (…). You’re in front of a hundred or a thousand people, sharing that moment together, (…), it’s like a drug, a powerful drug.”

Washington’s preparation for the critical role was intense: “I rehearsed all day and at 6 PM, I started classes with the Nation of Islam. We would walk and recite, and they disciplined us. Eventually, they had me stand up and speak, which helped tremendously. It pushed me forward, to stand in front of people without fear. And lots of prayers.”

An Oscar… Or Not!

At the time, the actor who would later join ‘The Magnificent Seven’ became one with his character and received an Oscar nomination for his performance. However, the Best Actor award eluded him in favor of a controversial actor, a fact that troubled him for some time.

Nevertheless, he would later win the coveted award for his role in ‘Training Day,’ nearly a decade later. He had previously won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1990 for ‘Glory.’ His most recent nomination was in 2022 for Joel Coen’s ‘The Tragedy of Macbeth.’