Denzel Washington Roles - Part I

Grandaddy of ‘em all. Our esteemed, beloved, ultra talented Denzel Washington. What can I say? Denzel Washington has made a name for himself as one of the preeminent black actors in motion pictures.
     
There’s just something about his appeal. Besides good looks, career longevity and industry respect, I just find something likeable about him… and respectable. He generally stays out of the gossip rags and people like him and he’s a family man and he doesn’t drive drunk, beat up people or do drugs. I think, as a person, he is respected. I think that helps his reputation as an actor, too.
    
Denzel Washington is an immensely talented actor; one who never disappoints.
    
Since Denzel Washington has such as huge body of work, and is such a big star, we’ll talk about him in increments.
     
I decided to stop denying the truth. It has been my own secret, my own skeleton in my own closet; but the truth is, contrary to popular sentiment, I don’t loooooove Denzel Washington as an actor, like everybody else does.  I feel guilty about this. I wonder if there is something wrong with me.  Everybody loves Denzel (well, everyone except my friend, Karl). I certainly like him and respect his work. I like him a lot. I said to myself, “What’s wrong with me? This is an outstanding actor. Why don’t I looooove him?” I set out to determine if I should.  So, I decided to talk about some of his most popular films and I tried to really pay attention to how I felt about his performances and how they made me feel. I want to see if, after this post series, I would feel differently.
    
I kind of felt like a Martian for having my secret because for our revered Denzel Washington, there are no dissenters.
     
Let’s start with these three popular Denzel pics.
    
Inside Man (2006) – (Detective Frazier) I liked Denzel in this role. He played the role quite capably and I thought there were aspects of his performance that made him really good in this role. Detective Frazier’s character, while totally believable and engaging, was not particularly interesting or compelling. Safe character. I liked the story. I thought this was a smart movie. I liked this Spike Lee-directed flick.
    
The Bone Collector (1999) – (Detective Rhymes)  Though the character is interesting and not at all boring, he is not compelling. The story is gripping, though. We feel sympathetic toward Detective Rhymes because he is a quadriplegic but beyond that basic sympathy, I felt nothing more than admiration for his achievements. He played the role capably. Safe character. Good story. This movie is more about story (evidence) than it is about character.
    
The Hurricane (1999) - In this film Denzel Washington gave a magnificent performance which was Oscar worthy, I thought. (I’m telling you -- to this day -- I still can’t figure out how Kevin Spacey won that Oscar for American Beauty.) Washington’s character was defiant, delusional, proud, contrite. This was a good story with a good character we were very sympathetic to.

As far as Denzel Washington, I think…
    
Character: I don’t find these characters interesting, except for Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.
    
Wanna see character; not actor: I think it was good and important that all of the characters looked different. I always like when actors achieve this. When I am watchng an actor, I want to be looking at an actor, and not thinking I am looking at, for instance, Denzel Washington. In Inside Man, Denzel had a thin mustache and closely (skin) cut hair and he wore a hat. In The Bone Collector, he had longer hair and was clean-shaven or, occasionally, had five o’clock shadow. In The Hurricane, we saw his appearance change over time, so he looked different throughout the movie. Nice.
    
Acting: Excellent in all roles. Performances he can be proud of. Us, too. He had a little more to work with in The Hurricane and took full advantage of it.
    
Parting words: I don’t think selection of these roles was a mistake, in any way. He picks good, safe roles. I think that’s one reason Denzel Washington enjoys career longevity. Good, solid “safe” roles. Excellent performances. Out of three, one compelling character. Two police officer roles.
    
What did you think about Denzel in these films?

Comments

[Kimi]

I completely understand what you are saying & agree.

I looooove Denzel cuz he chooses his roles well, I don't feel like I'm watching him in the same flick over & over, and he is respected on all levels as you mentioned above.

I also looove that he's one of ours who don't always got a whole lotta drama going on, he's just doing his thing & doing it well.

Denzel proves that an AA can take on any role & white folks will pay to see him in it which isn't easy to accomplish. He defies the negative image so many have of AAs.

Altho I enjoyed all of these flicks, I think I liked Hurricane best as well out of the 3. But none of these are his best work imho.

[Kimi]

One more thing: I think his "safe" roles have allowed him to successfully portray other roles that are not safe, and get away with it without being typecast or blacklisted.

[Shion]

Co-sign on Kimi's last post.Denzel's image allows him to venture out from time to time sort of like Tom Hanks (Road to Periditon). I am not a big fan of Denzel but I noticed his charisma and presence on screen. He comes across like the kind of supervisor I would want to work for. I remember Denzel said something to the effect that he believed he won his Best Actor Oscar not so much for the films he did but the films he didn't do(he was offered the lead in Amistad but turned it down).

[theblackactor.com]

Interesting.

Well, if he's avoided being typecast and created an opportunity for himself to do other things, then you guys must be right. He must be making smart choices.

[aulelia]

this site is brilliant. stumbled upon it through brown sista.

i am a denzel stan so i hope he is good in american gangster which i am going to see tonight as it was just released in the UK.

i think washington is a ''safe'' actor. although he can take risky roles. he has made it.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Aulelia

Thank you, Aulelia, for the kind words. I very much appreciate that. Guess I'm not the only one who hasn't seen AG. Been so busy!! Ima try to see it maybe next week. Enjoy the movie! Denzel is reliable. I figure he'll be good in it. :)

[Aulelia]

The Black Actor.com -- Just saw AG last night, I put a mini-review on my blog. Leave a comment if you can! I'd appreciate it. I thought it was a good effort. Denzel was of course great which is no surprise. There is just something about Denzel that I can't put my finger on but he HAS it.

RZA was good too.

[theblackactor.com]

@ Aulelia

Aulelia, I saw that on your blog this morning but didn't read it. I haven't read any blog (or news) entries about AG. I don't want the movie to be spoiled for me since bloggers are going to be talking about aspects of the movie, including plots, etc. But I will be sure to read it after I see AG and I will be more than happy to comment on it then. :) Deal? I'm planning to see it tomorrow.