A recent recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Denzel Washington rightfully took home Oscar gold in the early-2000s for his magnetic turn as a corrupt cop in Training Day. He’s been teaming up with acclaimed filmmaker Antoine Fuqua ever since. But during these years, and even before Training Day, Washington was churning out awards-caliber content from behind the camera as well.
“It’s my passion,” Washington told Oprah Winfrey in a 2008 interview regarding directing. “More than anything, I enjoy seeing talented people do what they do well. When you’re an actor, you come out of your trailer, do your thing, and then go back in. Directing is about collaboration — the production, the costuming, the script, the actors. I love it. It brings me joy. At 52 years old, I’m blessed to be able to segue into directing. I want to be Clint Eastwood when I grow up!”
As we await the release of a third Equalizer film, here’s a closer look at celebrated films that have featured Washington as either producer or director — or both.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
6 Antwone Fisher (2002)
Fox Searchlight Pictures
In addition to co-starring in it, Washington also produced and directed Antwone Fisher, which follows a sailor prone to violent outbursts, who is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man (played by Friday Night Lights star Derek Luke) eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. Through the guidance of his doctor (Washington), he confronts his painful past and begins a quest to find the family he never knew.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
“It’s enough just to direct the first time out, you know. And to have to act and direct — that was very difficult,” Washington once told ABC News about filming the impactful drama, whose true protagonist is the titular character. “It’s about the boy. That’s what I kept telling the crew. That’s what I kept telling myself. That’s what I tell everyone. It’s about Antwone. It’s not about me.”
5 Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)
Columbia Pictures
In addition to playing the titular role, Washington also produced Dan Gilroy’s acclaimed 2017 feature set in the underbelly of the overburdened Los Angeles criminal court system. Roman is a driven, idealistic defense attorney who, through a tumultuous series of events, finds himself in a crisis that leads to extreme action. Colin Farrell costars as the monied, cutthroat lawyer who recruits Roman to his firm. Roman J. Israel, Esq. is a showcase in the writing talents of Gilroy, who also wrote and directed Jake Gyllenhaal’s acclaimed film Nightcrawler. Meanwhile, it’s a breath of fresh air seeing Washington in a more frenzied performance. It’s a unique treat and a showcase in acting — no wonder his performance was Oscar-nominated.
4 The Equalizer (2014)
In addition to playing the titular role, Washington also served as producer on Fuqua’s action-packed crowd-pleaser that spawned sequels and a TV series: The Equalizer. Robert McCall is a former special service commando who faked his own death in hopes of living out a quiet life. Instead, he comes out of his self-imposed retirement to save a young girl, and finds his desire for justice reawakened after coming face-to-face with members of a brutal Russian gang. Washington easily nails the role in this O.G. film plus the sequel, and we can’t wait to see the third Equalizer film in the works.
3 The Great Debaters (2007)
Harpo Productions
Washington directed The Great Debaters in addition to co-starring. At the center of this film is Marshall, Texas, described by James Farmer, Jr. as “the last city to surrender after the Civil War” and home to Wiley College. In 1935, Professor Melvin Tolson (Washington) coaches the debate team to a nearly-undefeated season that sees the first debate between U.S. students from white and Negro colleges and ends with an invitation to face Harvard University’s national champions. The team of four, which includes a woman student and a very young James Farmer (the excellent Nate Parker), is tested in a crucible heated by Jim Crow, sexism, and more.
“The movie is not really about how this team defeats the national champions,” said the late, great Roger Ebert in his four-star review. “It is more about how its members, its coach, its school and community believe that an education is their best way out of the morass of racism and discrimination. They would find it unthinkable that decades in the future, serious black students would be criticized by jealous contemporaries for “acting white.” They are black, proud, single-minded, focused, and they express all this most dramatically in their debating.”
2 Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)
Escape Artists
Washington served as producer on Chadwick Boseman’s final on-screen effort, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In pure entertainment fashion, the acclaimed film depicts the tensions and temperatures that rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey (Viola Davis). We watch a frenzied battle of wills with her white manager and producer over control of her music, which is played by a band featuring an ambitious trumpeter Levee (the late, Oscar-nominated Boseman). Adapted from two-time Pulitzer Prize winner August Wilson’s play, the thought-provoking drama celebrates the transformative power of the blues.
1 Fences (2016)
Bron Creative
In addition to his SAG Award-winning turn as the film’s male lead, Washington also produced and directed the adaptation of the acclaimed theatrical play Fences. He plays Troy Maxson, who makes his living as a sanitation worker in 1950s Pittsburgh. He once dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but was deemed too old when the major leagues began admitting Black athletes. Bitter over his missed opportunity, Troy creates further tension in his family when he squashes his son’s chance to meet a college football recruiter. Viola Davis rightfully took home Oscar gold playing Troy’s wife in distress. It’s perhaps Washington’s finest on-screen effort to date, regardless of his involvement behind the camera. Don’t miss it!
