Paging Tracy Jordan! To win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony is a stunning accomplishment in Hollywood. Last night at the Tonys, Denzel Washington got halfway there.
Washington, who won acting Oscars for Glory and Training Day, took home the Tony for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play for his part in the revival of the August Wilson play Fences. He was joined in the race for EGOT by Catherine Zeta Jones, another former Oscar winner, who was named Best Actress in a musical for her performance in Steven Sondheim’s A Little Night Music.
Getting the EGOT is a rare milestone that only ten people in history have achieved: Mel Brooks, John Gielgud, Whoopi Goldberg, Helen Hayes, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch, Rita Moreno, Mike Nichols, Richard Rodgers and Jonathan Tunick.
The term was coined by Miami Vice actor Phillip Michael Thomas, who in the mid ’80s proclaimed his desire to win all four awards. (Thomas is currently 0/4 of the way there.) It was thrust into the public consciousness by an arc on the past season of 30 Rock, which featured Tracy Morgan’s character working to achieve the goal.
As many have noted, the E and the G are the easier pair to accomplish — and Washington is closer than most, having already been nominated for both an Emmy (for producing the documentaries Half Past Autumn: The Life and Works of Gordon Parks and Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream) and a Grammy (for narrating the tale of John Henry in a 1996 audiobook) To complete the EGOT, NewsFeed has a list of suggested careers steps for Washington to take (from most to least plausible):
–Star in an HBO original film and narrate another audiobook
— Guest star on 30 Rock and and release a children’s album
— Become a stand-up comic; record an album and a TV special
— Produce the visual effects for a miniseries and become an instrumental jazz soloist
— Become the costumer for a variety/musical program and release an album of Tejano music
Denzel Washington is an American actor who made his feature film debut in Carbon Copy (1981).[1] In 1982, Washington made his first appearance in the medical drama St. Elsewhere as Dr. Philip Chandler. The role proved to be the breakthrough in his career.[2][3] He starred as Private First Class Melvin Peterson in the drama A Soldier's Story (1984). The film was an adaptation of the Off-Broadway play A Soldier's Play (1981–1983) in which Washington had earlier portrayed the same character.[4] In 1987, he played Steve Biko, an anti-apartheid activist in the Richard Attenborough-directed drama Cry Freedom, for which he received his first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[5][6] Two years later, Washington won the award for playing Trip, a former slave-turned-soldier in Civil War film Glory (1989).[5][7] In 1990, he played the title character in the play The Tragedy of Richard III, and starred in Spike Lee's comedy-drama Mo' Better Blues. Washington received the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival, for playing the eponymous civil rights activist in Lee's Malcolm X (1992).[8]
In 1993, Washington starred in Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of the Shakespearean comedy Much Ado About Nothing, legal thriller The Pelican Brief with Julia Roberts, and AIDS drama Philadelphia with Tom Hanks. He appeared in Tony Scott's Crimson Tide in 1995. Washington won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama,[9] and his second Silver Bear for Best Actor for playing wrongly-convicted boxer Rubin Carter in the biographical film The Hurricane (1999).[8][10] He followed this with another biographical role as American football coach Herman Boone in the 2000 sports drama Remember the Titans.[11] For his next role as corrupt cop Alonzo Harris in the crime thriller Training Day (2001),[12] Washington received the Academy Award for Best Actor.[13] By virtue of his win, he became the first African American actor to win two competitive Academy Awards, and the first since Sidney Poitier in 1964 to win the leading actor award.[14][15]
Washington reteamed with Scott on the thriller Man on Fire, and starred with Meryl Streep in The Manchurian Candidate (both in 2004). In 2005, he returned to the stage in the Shakespearean play Julius Caesar. Washington played drug kingpin Frank Lucas in American Gangster,[16] and poet and educator Melvin B. Tolson in The Great Debaters[17] (both in 2007). In 2010, Washington received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for playing Troy Maxson in Fences (six years later, he starred in the film adaptation of the play for which he won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role).[18][19] For his portrayal of an alcoholic airline pilot in Flight (2012),[20] he garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.[21] In 2014, Washington appeared in the action thriller The Equalizer, and the play A Raisin in the Sun.
Contents
1 Film
2 Television
3 Stage
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Film
Year Title Role Notes Ref(s)
1981 Carbon Copy Roger Porter [22]
1984 A Soldier's Story Private First Class Melvin Peterson [23]
1986 Power Arnold Billings [24]
1987 Cry Freedom Steve Biko [25]
1988 For Queen and Country Reuben James [26]
1989 The Mighty Quinn Xavier Quinn [27]
1989 Glory Trip [24]
1990 Heart Condition Napoleon Stone [28]
1990 Mo' Better Blues Bleek Gilliam [29]
1991 Mississippi Masala Demetrius Williams [30]
1991 Ricochet Nick Styles [31]
1992 Malcolm X Malcolm X [24]
1993 Much Ado About Nothing Don Pedro of Aragon [32]
1993 The Pelican Brief Gray Grantham [33]
1993 Philadelphia Joe Miller [34]
1995 Crimson Tide Lt. Commander Ron Hunter [35]
1995 Virtuosity Lt. Parker Barnes [24]
1995 Devil in a Blue Dress Easy Rawlins [24]
1996 Courage Under Fire Lt. Colonel Nathaniel Serling [24]
1996 The Preacher's Wife Dudley [36]
1998 Fallen Detective John Hobbes [37]
1998 He Got Game Jake Shuttlesworth [24]
1998 The Siege Anthony Hubbard [24]
1999 The Bone Collector Lincoln Rhyme [24]
1999 The Hurricane Rubin Carter [10]
2000 Remember the Titans Herman Boone [11]
2001 Training Day Alonzo Harris [24]
2002 John Q. John Q. Archibald [38]
2002 Antwone Fisher Dr. Jerome Davenport Also director, producer [39]
2003 Out of Time Matt Lee Whitlock [40]
2004 Man on Fire John W. Creasy [41]
2004 The Manchurian Candidate Maj. Ben Marco [42]
2006 Inside Man Keith Frazier [43]
2006 Déjà Vu Doug Carlin [44]
2007 American Gangster Frank Lucas [24]
2007 The Great Debaters Melvin B. Tolson Also director [24]
2009 The Taking of Pelham 123 Walter Garber [24]
2010 The Book of Eli Eli Also producer [45]
2010 Unstoppable Frank Barnes [46]
2012 Safe House Tobin Frost [47]
2012 Flight William "Whip" Whitaker Sr. [48]
2013 2 Guns Robert "Bobby" Trench [24]
2014 The Equalizer Robert McCall Also producer [49]
2016 The Magnificent Seven Sam Chisolm [50]
2016 Fences Troy Maxson Also director, producer [51]
2017 Roman J. Israel, Esq. Roman J. Israel Also producer [52]
[53]
2018 The Equalizer 2 Robert McCall Also producer [54]
2020Films that have not yet been released Ma Rainey's Black Bottom — Post-production
Producer [55]
2021Films that have not yet been released The Little Things Deke Post-production [56]
TBAFilms that have not yet been released The Tragedy of Macbeth Lord Macbeth Filming [57]
Key
Films that have not yet been released Denotes films that have not yet been released
Television
Year(s) Title Role(s) Notes Ref(s)
1977 The Wilma Rudolph Story Robert Eldridge – age 18 Television film [58]
[59]
1979 Flesh & Blood Kirk Television film [60]
[61]
1982–1988 St. Elsewhere Dr. Philip Chandler [62]
1984 License to Kill Martin Sawyer Television film [63]
1986 The George McKenna Story George McKenna Also known as Hard Lessons
Television film [64]
1992 Great Performances Narrator Episode: "Jammin': Jelly Roll Morton on Broadway" [65]
1992 Liberators: Fighting on Two Fronts in World War II Narrator Documentary film [66]
1995
1997 Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child King Omar
Humpty Dumpty
Crooked Man Episode: "Rumpelstiltskin"
Episode: "Mother Goose: A Rappin' and Rhymin' Special"
Voice only [67]
[68]
2013 The March Narrator Documentary film [69]
2016 Grey's Anatomy — Episode: "The Sound of Silence" (director) [70]
Stage
Year(s) Production Theater Role(s) Notes Ref.
1979 Coriolanus Joseph Papp Public Theater Aediles
Roman Citizen
Voscian Citizen
Roman Soldier
Voscian Soldier June 22 − July 22 [71]
1981–1983 A Soldier's Play Theatre Four Private First Class Melvin Peterson November 20, 1981 − January 2, 1983 [72]
1988 Checkmates 46th Street Theatre Sylvester Williams August 4 − December 31 [73]
1990 The Tragedy of Richard III Joseph Papp Public Theater Richard III of England August 3 − September 2 [74]
2005 Julius Caesar Belasco Theatre Marcus Brutus April 3 − June 12 [75]
2010 Fences Cort Theatre Troy Maxson April 26 − July 11 [76]
2014 A Raisin in the Sun Ethel Barrymore Theatre Walter Lee Younger April 3 − June 15 [77]
2018 The Iceman Cometh Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre Theodore "Hickey" Hickman April 26 − July 1 [78]
See also
ctor Denzel Washington has earned popular and critical acclaim for his roles in an array of feature films, including 'Glory,' 'Malcolm X,' 'Training Day' and 'Fences.'
Who Is Denzel Washington?
Denzel Washington first studied journalism at Fordham University but then discovered an interest in acting. He made his feature film debut in the comedy A Carbon Copy (1981) and was cast on the hit TV medical drama St. Elsewhere (1982-88). He went on to appear in several hit movies, including Philadelphia, Man on Fire, The Book of Eli, American Gangster and Flight, and won Oscars for his roles in Glory and Training Day. He received an Oscar nomination for his starring role in 2016's Fences, an adaptation of August Wilson's Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play, and for the 2017 film Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Early Life and Acting Career
Washington was born on December 28, 1954, in Mount Vernon, New York. He is the son of a Pentecostal minister and a beauty shop owner and has two siblings. Washington first took the stage around the age of seven, appearing in a talent show at his local Boys & Girls Club. The club provided him with a safe place to be and to keep him out of trouble. At 14, his parents divorced and he and his older sister were sent away to boarding school.
Washington went to Fordham University, but he proved to be a poor student initially. After taking some time away from college, he returned to the university with a new interest in acting and graduated with a B.A. in Drama and Journalism in 1977. Washington later won a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, and afterward worked with the Shakespeare in the Park ensemble.
Movies and TV
Washington made his feature film debut in the comedy A Carbon Copy (1981). He also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions and in television movies before being cast in a starring role in the hit television medical drama St. Elsewhere (1982–88). Washington grabbed his first of five Oscar nominations for Cry Freedom (1987), playing real-life South African apartheid martyr Steve Biko. He later won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Glory (1989).
Washington appeared in several notable films throughout the 1990s, including Spike Lee collaborations like the jazz outing Mo’ Better Blues (1990) and biopic Malcolm X (1992), for which he was nominated for an Oscar. Other projects from this era included The Pelican Brief (1993), Philadelphia (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Courage Under Fire (1996) and The Hurricane (1999), for which he received a Golden Globe for best actor and another Oscar nomination.
In 2001, Washington received his second Oscar (this time in a leading role) for the cop thriller Training Day. The following year, he directed his first film, the biographical drama Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred. Washington would once again step behind the camera for the historical The Great Debaters (2007), which profiled a winning African-American debate team.
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Several hits followed, including Man on Fire (2004), The Manchurian Candidate (2004) and Lee's Inside Man (2006), which co-starred Jodie Foster and Clive Owen. Washington also starred as Frank Lucas, a real-life heroin kingpin from Harlem, in the 2007 film American Gangster, opposite Russell Crowe. In 2009, Washington starred as MTA Dispatcher Walter Garber in the remake of the classic film The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, co-starring John Travolta.
Washington has continued to explore a range of roles. He starred in the 2010 futuristic tale The Book of Eli. That same year, Washington won a Tony Award for his work in Fences, a revival of the August Wilson classic drama. He landed a $20 million payday for the 2012 action thriller Safe House, in which he played a CIA agent gone rogue, and the film grossed more than $200 million worldwide. In 2012 Washington appeared in the comparatively low-budget drama Flight, earning accolades and his sixth Oscar nomination for his performance as a pilot with substance abuse problems. He then teamed up with Mark Wahlberg for the 2013 crime drama 2 Guns and had another action hit in 2014 with The Equalizer.
In early 2016, Washington received the Cecil B. DeMille Award from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association at its annual Golden Globe telecast. Later that year he directed and starred in the film adaptation of Fences. For his on-screen role in the film, he was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Oscar for Best Actor.
The following year, Washington was credited with helping to hold together the uneven Roman J. Israel, Esq., earning Golden Globe and Oscar nods for Best Actor. In July 2018 Washington reprised his Equalizer role for its sequel, The Equalizer 2.
Recent Theatre Work
Besides his work in Fences in 2010, Washington played the leading role in Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway in 2014, to critical acclaim. Continuing his work on stage, he is also set to star in the Broadway revival of The Iceman Cometh in early 2018, playing Theodore "Hickey" Hickman.
Wife and Children
Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson in 1983; they have four children. Their oldest son, John David, was drafted in 2006 by the NFL's St. Louis Rams. He now plays for the Sacramento Mountain Lions in the United Football League. Their other children are daughter Katia and twins Olivia and Malcolm.
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor, director, and producer. He has received two Golden Globe awards, one Tony Award,[1] and two Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actor for the historical war drama film Glory (1989) and Best Actor for his role as corrupt detective Alonzo Harris in the crime thriller Training Day (2001).[2] He is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of his generation, and is considered an American cultural icon.
Washington has received much critical acclaim for his film work since the 1980s, including his portrayals of real-life figures such as South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko in Cry Freedom (1987), Muslim minister and human rights activist Malcolm X in Malcolm X (1992), boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in The Hurricane (1999), football coach Herman Boone in Remember the Titans (2000), poet and educator Melvin B. Tolson in The Great Debaters (2007), and drug kingpin Frank Lucas in American Gangster (2007). He has been a featured actor in films produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and has been a frequent collaborator of directors Spike Lee, Antoine Fuqua, and Tony Scott. In 2016, he received the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.
In 2002, Washington made his directorial debut with the biographical film Antwone Fisher.[3] His second directorial effort was The Great Debaters (2007). His third film, Fences (2016), in which he also starred, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.[4]
Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
2.1 Early work
2.2 1990s
2.3 2000s
2.4 Return to theater
2.5 2010s
3 Personal life
4 Filmography
5 Awards and nominations
6 References
7 External links
Early life
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. was born in Mount Vernon, New York, on December 28, 1954. His mother, Lennis "Lynne" (née Lowe; born 1924),[5] was a beauty parlor owner and operator born in Georgia and partly raised in Harlem, New York.[6][7][8][9] His father, Denzel Hayes Washington Sr. (1909–1991),[10] was a native of Buckingham County, Virginia, an ordained Pentecostal minister, and an employee of the New York City Water Department, as well as working at a local S. Klein department store.
Washington attended Pennington-Grimes Elementary School in Mount Vernon until 1968. When he was 14, his parents divorced and his mother sent him to the private preparatory school Oakland Military Academy in New Windsor, New York. Washington later said, "That decision changed my life, because I wouldn't have survived in the direction I was going. The guys I was hanging out with at the time, my running buddies, have now done maybe 40 years combined in the penitentiary. They were nice guys, but the streets got them."[11] After Oakland, he attended Mainland High School in Daytona Beach, Florida from 1970 to 1971.[7] He was interested in attending Texas Tech University: "I grew up in the Boys Club in Mount Vernon, and we were the Red Raiders. So when I was in high school, I wanted to go to Texas Tech in Lubbock just because they were called the Red Raiders and their uniforms looked like ours."[12] He earned a BA in Drama and Journalism from Fordham University in 1977.[13] At Fordham, he played collegiate basketball as a guard[14] under coach P.J. Carlesimo.[15] After a period of indecision on which major to study and taking a semester off, Washington worked as creative arts director of the overnight summer camp at Camp Sloane YMCA in Lakeville, Connecticut. He participated in a staff talent show for the campers and a colleague suggested he try acting.[16]
Returning to Fordham that fall with a renewed purpose, Washington enrolled at the Lincoln Center campus to study acting, where he was given the title roles in Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones and Shakespeare's Othello. He then attended graduate school at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, California, where he stayed for one year before returning to New York to begin a professional acting career.[17]
Career
Early work
Washington spent the summer of 1976 in St. Mary's City, Maryland, in summer stock theater performing Wings of the Morning,[18][19] the Maryland State play, which was written for him by incorporating an African-American character/narrator based loosely on the historical figure from early colonial Maryland, Mathias Da Sousa.[18] Shortly after graduating from Fordham, Washington made his screen acting debut in the 1977 made-for-television film Wilma, and his first Hollywood appearance in the 1981 film Carbon Copy. He shared a 1982 Distinguished Ensemble Performance Obie Award for playing Private First Class Melvin Peterson in the Off-Broadway Negro Ensemble Company production A Soldier's Play which premiered November 20, 1981.[20]
Washington at the 62nd Academy Awards, at which he won Best Supporting Actor for the film Glory
A major career break came when Washington starred as Dr. Phillip Chandler in NBC's television hospital drama St. Elsewhere, which ran from 1982 to 1988. He was one of only a few African-American actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run. He also appeared in several television, motion picture and stage roles, such as the films A Soldier's Story (1984), Hard Lessons (1986) and Power (1986). In 1987, he starred as South African anti-apartheid political activist Steven Biko in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom, for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
In 1989, Washington won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of a defiant, self-possessed ex-slave soldier in the film Glory. That same year, he appeared in the film The Mighty Quinn; and in For Queen and Country, where he played the conflicted and disillusioned Reuben James, a British soldier who, despite a distinguished military career, returns to a civilian life where racism and inner city life lead to vigilantism and violence.
1990s
In 1990, Washington starred as Bleek Gilliam in the Spike Lee film Mo' Better Blues. In 1991, he starred as Demetrius Williams in the romantic drama Mississippi Masala. Washington was reunited with Lee to play one of his most critically acclaimed roles, the title character of 1992's Malcolm X. His performance as the black nationalist leader earned him another nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Also that year, he established the production company Mundy Lane Entertainment.[21] The next year, he played the lawyer of a gay man with AIDS in the 1993 film Philadelphia. During the early and mid-1990s, Washington starred in several successful thrillers, including The Pelican Brief with Julia Roberts in 1993, and Crimson Tide with Gene Hackman in 1995, as well as in the movie of the Shakespearean comedy Much Ado About Nothing. In 1996, he played a U.S. Army officer who, despondent about a deadly mistake he made, investigates a female chopper commander's worthiness for the Medal of Honor in Courage Under Fire with Meg Ryan. In 1996, he appeared with Whitney Houston in the romantic comedy The Preacher's Wife.[22]
In 1998, Washington starred in Spike Lee's film He Got Game. Washington played a father serving a six-year prison term when the prison warden offers him a temporary parole to convince his top-ranked high-school basketball player son (Ray Allen) to sign with the governor's alma mater, Big State. The film was Washington's third collaboration with Lee.[23] The same year he starred in Gregory Hoblit's Fallen with John Goodman and Donald Sutherland.
In 1999, Washington starred in The Hurricane, a film about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after he spent almost 20 years in prison. He received a Golden Globe Award in 2000 and a Silver Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival for the role. Also in 1999, Washington starred alongside Angelina Jolie in The Bone Collector, which although twice as successful at the box office, was not as well received by critics.
2000s
In 2000, Washington appeared in the Disney film Remember the Titans which grossed over $100 million in the U.S.[24] At the 57th Golden Globe Awards, Washington won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for his work in The Hurricane. He was the first black actor to win the award since Sidney Poitier in 1963.[25][26]
Washington won an Academy Award for Best Actor for the 2001 cop thriller Training Day, where he played Detective Alonzo Harris, a corrupt Los Angeles cop. He was the second African-American actor to win the category after Sidney Poitier, who was presented with an Honorary Academy Award the same night.[27]
After appearing in 2002's box office success, the healthcare-themed John Q., Washington directed his first film, a well-reviewed drama called Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred.
Washington after a performance of Julius Caesar in May 2005
Between 2003 and 2004, Washington appeared in a series of thrillers that performed generally well at the box office, including Out of Time, Man on Fire, and The Manchurian Candidate.[28] In 2006, he starred in Inside Man, a Spike Lee-directed bank heist thriller co-starring Jodie Foster and Clive Owen, released in March, and Déjà Vu.
In 2007, Washington co-starred with Russell Crowe, for the second time after 1995's Virtuosity, in Ridley Scott's American Gangster. He also directed and starred in the drama The Great Debaters with Forest Whitaker. He next appeared in Tony Scott's 2009 film The Taking of Pelham 123 (a remake of the 1974 thriller of the same name), where he played New York City subway security chief Walter Garber opposite John Travolta's villain.[29]
Return to theater
In the summer of 1990, Washington appeared in the title role of the Public Theater's production of Shakespeare's Richard III. In 2005, he appeared onstage again as Marcus Brutus in a Broadway production of Julius Caesar. Despite mixed reviews, the production's limited run was a consistent sell-out.[30] In the spring of 2010, Washington played Troy Maxson, opposite Viola Davis, in the Broadway revival of August Wilson's Fences, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play on June 13, 2010.[31][32]
Washington's signature in front of Grauman's Chinese Theatre
From April to June 2014, Washington played the leading role in the Broadway production of Lorraine Hansberry's classic drama A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Kenny Leon.[33] The show received positive reviews and won the 2014 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.[34]
Beginning March 22, 2018, Washington starred as Theodore "Hickey" Hickman in a Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. The production, directed by George C. Wolfe, began regular performances April 26 and ran for 14 weeks.[35]
2010s
Washington with Anne Hathaway at The Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2010
In 2010, Washington starred in The Book of Eli, a post-Apocalyptic drama set in the near future. Also in 2010, he starred as a veteran railroad engineer in the action film Unstoppable, about an unmanned, half-mile-long runaway freight train carrying dangerous cargo. The film was his fifth and final collaboration with director Tony Scott, following Crimson Tide (1995), Man on Fire (2004), Déjà Vu (2006) and The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009).
In 2012, Washington starred in Flight, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He co-starred with Ryan Reynolds in Safe House, where he prepared for his role by subjecting himself to a torture session that included waterboarding.[36] In 2013, Washington starred in 2 Guns, alongside Mark Wahlberg. In 2014, he starred in The Equalizer, an action thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by Richard Wenk, based on the television series of same name starring Edward Woodward.[37] He reprised his role in his first sequel, The Equalizer 2 (2018).
In 2016, Washington starred in the remake of 1960 western film of the same name, The Magnificent Seven, alongside Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, Vincent D'Onofrio, Lee Byung-hun, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Martin Sensmeier, Haley Bennett, and Peter Sarsgaard. Principal photography began on May 18, 2015, in north Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The film premiered on September 8 at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival, and was released in the United States in conventional and IMAX theatres on September 23, 2016.[38]
Washington at the premiere of The Equalizer in 2014
In The Magnificent Seven, Washington plays Sam Chisolm ("the Bounty Hunter"), a duly sworn warrant officer from Wichita, Kansas.[39] His character was renamed from Chris Adams (played by Yul Brynner in the original film) to Sam Chisolm.[40] It is Washington's first Western film.[41] Washington did not watch Westerns growing up, as it was the end of the Western era in the movies. Moreover, he and his siblings were barred from going to the cinema by his father, a minister in a church. They grew up watching biblical films instead, like King of Kings and The Ten Commandments, although he has said that he watched portions of the shows Rawhide and Bonanza.[41][42] He did not view the original film in preparation, but has watched Seven Samurai.[41] Fuqua said that Washington, whom he had twice collaborated with, was his first choice to be cast irrespective of the role.[citation needed] The producers were skeptical whether he would take the job since it was a Western film, but Fuqua flew to New York City to negotiate with Washington, who accepted the offer.[43][44]
In 2016, Washington directed the film Fences, co-starring Viola Davis and based on Wilson's play of the same name, with a script by Wilson. Set in 1950s Pittsburgh, Washington plays a former Negro league baseball player working as a waste collector who struggles to provide for his family and come to terms with the events of his life. The film was released on December 16, 2016, by Paramount Pictures. For his performance, Washington was nominated in the Best Actor category for a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award. In 2017, Washington starred in the legal drama film Roman J. Israel, Esq.. His performance was praised by critics and led to nominations for a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award, Washington's ninth Oscar nomination overall, and his sixth for Best Actor.
Personal life
On June 25, 1983, Washington married Pauletta Pearson, whom he met on the set of his first screen work, the television film Wilma. They have four children: John David (born July 28, 1984), also an actor and a former football player,[45][46] Katia (born November 27, 1986) who graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts in 2010, and twins Olivia and Malcolm (born April 10, 1991). Malcolm graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a degree in film studies, and Olivia played a role in Lee Daniels's film The Butler. In 1995, Washington and his wife renewed their wedding vows in South Africa with Desmond Tutu officiating.[47] As of 2008, they lived in an apartment at 15 Central Park West in New York City.[48][49]
Washington is a devout Christian,[50] and has considered becoming a preacher. He stated in 1999, "A part of me still says, 'Maybe, Denzel, you're supposed to preach. Maybe you're still compromising.' I've had an opportunity to play great men and, through their words, to preach. I take what talent I've been given seriously, and I want to use it for good."[51] In 1995, he donated US$2.5 million to help build the new West Angeles Church of God in Christ facility in Los Angeles.[52][53] Washington says he reads the Bible daily.[54]
Washington has served as the national spokesperson for Boys & Girls Clubs of America since 1993[55] and has appeared in public service announcements and awareness campaigns for the organization.[56] In addition, he has served as a board member for Boys & Girls Clubs of America since 1995.[57] Due to his philanthropic work with the Boys & Girls Club, PS 17X, a New York City Elementary School decided to officially name their school after Washington.
In mid-2004, Washington visited Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) at Fort Sam Houston, where he participated in a Purple Heart ceremony, presenting medals to three Army soldiers recovering from wounds they received while stationed in Iraq. He also visited the fort's Fisher House facilities, and after learning that it had exceeded its capacity, made a substantial donation to the Fisher House Foundation. Washington's other charitable contributions include US$1 million to Nelson Mandela's Children's Fund in 1995[58] and US$1 million to Wiley College to resuscitate the college's debate team.[59]
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) named Washington as one of three people (the others being directors Oliver Stone and Michael Moore) with whom they were willing to negotiate for the release of three defense contractors the group had held captive from 2003 to 2008.[60]
On May 18, 1991, Washington was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Fordham University, for having "impressively succeeded in exploring the edge of his multifaceted talent".[61] In 2011, he donated $2 million to Fordham for an endowed chair of the theater department, as well as US$250,000 to establish a theater-specific scholarship at the school. He also received an honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Morehouse College on May 20, 2007.[62] and an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania on May 16, 2011.[63]
Courage Under Fire is a 1996 American war film directed by Edward Zwick, and starring Denzel Washington and Meg Ryan. It is the second collaboration between Washington and director Zwick. The film was released in the United States on July 12, 1996, to positive reviews and grossed $100 million worldwide.
Contents
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Reception
4.1 Box office
4.2 Critical response
4.3 Accolades
5 Historical accuracy
6 References
7 External links
Plot
While serving in the Gulf War, Lieutenant Colonel Serling (Denzel Washington) accidentally destroys one of his own tanks during a confusing night-time battle, killing his friend, Captain Boylar (Tim Ransom). The U.S. Army covers up the details and transfers Serling to a desk job.
Later, Serling is assigned to determine if Captain Karen Emma Walden (Meg Ryan) should be the first woman to receive (posthumously) the Medal of Honor. She was the commander of a Medevac Huey helicopter that was sent to rescue the crew of a shot-down Black Hawk helicopter. When Walden encountered a T-54 enemy tank, her crew destroyed it by dropping a fuel bladder onto the tank and igniting it with a flare gun. However, her own helicopter was shot down soon after. The two crews were unable to join forces, and when the survivors were rescued the next day, Walden was reported dead.
Serling notices inconsistencies among the testimonies of Walden's crew. Specialist Andrew Ilario (Matt Damon), the medic, praises Walden strongly. However, Staff Sergeant John Monfriez (Lou Diamond Phillips) claims that Walden was a coward and that he led the crew in combat and improvised the fuel bladder weapon. Sergeant Altameyer (Seth Gilliam), who is dying in a hospital, complains about a fire. Warrant Officer One Rady (Tim Guinee), the co-pilot, was injured early on and unconscious throughout. Furthermore, the crew of the Black Hawk claim that they heard firing from an M16, but Ilario and Monfriez claim it was out of ammo.
Serling is under pressure from the White House and his commander, Brigadier General Hershberg (Michael Moriarty), to wrap things up quickly. To prevent another cover-up, Serling leaks the story to a newspaper reporter, Tony Gartner (Scott Glenn). When Serling grills Monfriez during a car ride, Monfriez forces him to get out of the vehicle at gunpoint, then commits suicide by driving into an oncoming train.
Serling tracks Ilario down, and Ilario finally tells him the truth. Monfriez wanted to flee, which would mean abandoning Rady. When Walden refused, he pulled a gun on her. Walden then shot an enemy who appeared behind Monfriez, but Monfriez thought Walden was firing at him and shot her in the stomach, before backing off. The next morning, the enemy attacked again as a rescue party approached. Walden covered her men's retreat, firing an M16. However, Monfriez told the rescuers that Walden was dead, so they left without her. Napalm was then dropped on the entire area. Altameyer tried to expose Monfriez's lie at the time, but was too injured to speak, and Ilario was too scared of the court-martial Walden had threatened them with and remained silent.
Serling presents his final report to Hershberg. Walden's young daughter receives the Medal of Honor at a White House ceremony. Later, Serling tells the truth to the Boylars about the manner of their son's death and says he cannot ask for forgiveness. The Boylars tell Serling he must release his burden at some point and grant him their forgiveness.
In the last moments, Serling has a flashback of when he was standing by Boylar's destroyed tank and a medevac Huey was lifting off with his friend's body. Serling suddenly realizes Walden was the Huey pilot.
Cast
Denzel Washington as Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling
Meg Ryan as Captain Karen Emma Walden
Lou Diamond Phillips as Staff Sergeant John Monfriez
Matt Damon as Specialist Andrew Ilario
Bronson Pinchot as Bruno, a White House aide
Seth Gilliam as Sergeant Steven Altameyer
Regina Taylor as Meredith Serling
Michael Moriarty as Brigadier General Hershberg
Željko Ivanek as Captain Ben Banacek
Scott Glenn as Tony Gartner, a Washington Post reporter and Vietnam veteran
Tim Guinee as Warrant Officer One A. Rady
Tim Ransom as Captain Boylar
Sean Astin as Sergeant Patella
Ned Vaughn as First Lieutenant Chelli
Sean Patrick Thomas as Sergeant Thompson
Manny Pérez as Jenkins
Ken Jenkins as Joel Walden
Kathleen Widdoes as Geraldine Walden
Christina Stojanovich as Anne Marie Walden
Tom Schanley as Questioner
Korey Coleman as Cereal Commander
David McSwain as Sergeant Egan
Production
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A Centurion tank modified to look like an M1A1 Abrams used in the film, located at the Russell Military Museum
The U.S. Department of Defense withdrew its cooperation for the film so the tanks Serling commanded early in the film were British Centurions shipped from Australia with sheet metal added to make them resemble M1A1 Abrams. These visually modified tanks were subsequently used to simulate the Abrams in several other motion pictures.
ROTC Cadets from Texas A&M University were used as extras in the background in some of the training camp scenes.
The film draws reference to Walden and her crew assisting the crew of a downed Black Hawk helicopter. However, the scene shows the wrecked fuselage of a Huey. This is due to the Department of Defense withdrawing its cooperation. There were no privately owned Black Hawk fuselages available to acquire for the film. The parts of the script making reference to the Black Hawk had already been shot, so rather than change the whole film to adapt it to a Huey, the producers left it as Black Hawk and used a wrecked fuselage of a Huey for the desert shots in the hope not many viewers would notice the discrepancy.
The Iraqi battle scenes were filmed at the Indian Cliffs Ranch just outside El Paso, Texas. Many of the props were left there and became a tourist attraction. The White House Rose Garden set was destroyed twice: once by a tornado, and once by a sandstorm.
In order to lose 40 pounds (18 kilograms) for the later scenes, Matt Damon went on a strict regimen of food deprivation and physical training. On Inside the Actors Studio, Damon said that the regimen consisted of six and a half miles of running in the morning and again at night, a diet of chicken breast, egg whites, and one plain baked potato per day, and a large amount of coffee and cigarettes. His health was affected to the extent that he had to have medical supervision for several months afterwards. His efforts, however, did not go unnoticed; director Francis Ford Coppola was so impressed by Damon's dedication to method acting that he offered him the leading role in The Rainmaker (1997). Steven Spielberg was also impressed by his performance, but thought he was too skinny and discounted him from casting considerations for Saving Private Ryan until he met Damon during the filming of Good Will Hunting, by which time he was back at his normal weight.[2]
Reception
Box office
U.S. domestic gross: US$ 59,031,057 [3]
International: $41,829,761[3]
Worldwide gross: $100,860,818[3]
The film opened #3 at the box office behind Independence Day and Phenomenon.[4]
Critical response
The film received mostly positive reviews. As of January 14, 2013, the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 85% of critics gave the film a positive review based upon a sample of 53 reviews with an average rating of 7.3/10. The critical consensus states that the film is "an emotional and intriguing tale of a military officer who must review the merits of a fallen officer while confronting his own war demons. Effectively depicts the terrors of war as well as its heartbreaking aftermath."[5] At the website Metacritic, which uses a weighted average rating system, the film earned a generally favorable rating of 77/100 based on 19 mainstream critic reviews.[6]
The movie was commended by several critics. James Berardinelli of the website ReelViews wrote that the film was, "As profound and intelligent as it is moving, and that makes this memorable motion picture one of 1996's best."[7] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times spoke positively of the film saying that while the ending "lays on the emotion a little heavily" the movie had been up until that point "a fascinating emotional and logistical puzzle—almost a courtroom movie, with the desert as the courtroom."[8]
Denzel Washington's acting was specifically lauded, as Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote, "In Washington's haunted eyes, in the stunning cinematography of Roger Deakins (Fargo) that plunges into the mad flare of combat, in the plot that deftly turns a whodunit into a meditation on character and in Zwick's persistent questioning of authority, Courage Under Fire honors its subject and its audience."[9] Additionally Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that "Denzel Washington is riveting."[10]
Accolades
Denzel Washington was nominated for Best Actor at the 1996 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards, but lost to Billy Bob Thornton in Sling Blade.
Historical accuracy
The Medal of Honor had previously been awarded to a woman, Mary Edwards Walker, an American Civil War physician, but not for valor in combat.[11] Walker's award was revoked in 1917, then restored in 1977.