Why One Director Dismissed Denzel Washington’s Favourite Role

Denzel Washington is a name that’s hard to miss in any chat about top-tier Hollywood talent. He’s one of those blokes who can fill a cinema just by showing up on the poster. While no one’s doubting his skills, his unique approach to acting isn’t always the best example for up-and-comers still working out their own style.

Plenty of actors are forever linked to one standout role, but picking the highlight of Washington’s career is a tough ask. He’s got two Oscars under his belt—one for his supporting turn in Glory and another for leading Training Day. Even so, his mate Spike Lee reckons he should’ve scored the gong for Malcolm X. But when it comes to the part Washington himself rates the highest, it’s not the one most punters would pick.

The Hurricane: Washington’s Own Top Pick

Washington has said he’s especially chuffed with his work in The Hurricane, where he played Rubin Carter, a real-life boxer wrongly banged up for murder. Carter’s story sparked protests during the Civil Rights era and even inspired Bob Dylan’s classic tune ‘Hurricane’. The film landed Washington an Oscar nod for Best Actor, though it’s not always listed among his greatest hits. Still, it’s a significant piece, shining a light on a bloke who shouldn’t be forgotten, and it pushed Washington to get in top shape for the boxing scenes.

The film drew plenty of praise, and Washington’s performance was the sort only he could pull off. But if younger actors try to mimic his passionate delivery, it can come off as a bit much—maybe even a bit cheesy. That’s exactly what director David Gordon Green thought when he was working on his indie drama George Washington.

David Gordon Green’s Take on Acting Styles

Green wanted his young cast to steer clear of the usual acting tricks.

I took advantage of the fact that the kids didn’t know the textbook ways of acting to show them what I thought acting is, which is just a hair beyond the ‘let’s pretend’ school of acting,

he explained. He tried to get them to see things his way, saying,

I tried to get them to understand how I feel when I see Denzel Washington in The Hurricane, which I find such a phony, false performance in which I see him overdramatise every line he says.

George Washington was Green’s first go at a low-budget character piece, following a young boy, played by Damian Jewan Lee, as he deals with a shocking event and learns what it means to be a hero. Lee’s acting stands out for feeling completely real, a vibe Green kept chasing in later films like All The Real Girls and Undertow.

Clashing Views and Career Turns

Green’s approach to directing kids makes sense, but his swipe at Washington’s style is a bit odd, especially with so many worse examples of ‘Oscar bait’ performances out there. While Green got a pat on the back for the down-to-earth feel of his early work, his later films like Halloween Ends and The Exorcist: Believer didn’t exactly win over the locals, making his criticism of Washington seem a bit rich.