Joey Magidson
You can’t deny that Denzel Washington is an icon and one of this generation’s great actors. Another legend with a pair of Academy Awards on his mantle, Washington has gold, box office glory (no pun intended), and respect. So, whether it’s an Oscar vehicle or not, anything he does comes with a bit of extra cache. With Gladiator II about to hit theaters, it seemed like a good time to look at some of Washington’s best work.
In my review of Gladiator II here, I had the following to say about Washington:
The cast is led by Paul Mescal, of course, but it’s Denzel Washington who steals the show. At the same time, he’s in a completely different film than everyone else. He’s in a very enjoyable one, but it’s a movie no one else is in.
Below, you can see how the best of Washington stacks up for me. I actually have one of his more underrated turns in Philadelphia as my top pick, but basically all of the top ten is unimpeachable. Whether you gravitate towards Flight, Glory, Malcolm X, Training Day, or any of his other Oscar nominated or winning turns, you really can’t go wrong. Where does Gladiator II rank for him, if at all? Find out next…
Here now is how I’d rank the ten best Denzel Washington performances so far:
Honorable Mention: Crimson Tide, Cry Freedom, Fences, Gladiator II, Remember the Titans, and The Tragedy of Macbeth
10. American Gangster
9. Training Day
8. Inside Man
7. The Siege
6. Flight
5. The Hurricane
4. Glory
3. He Got Game
2. Malcolm X
1. Philadelphia
What are your favorite Denzel Washington performances? Let us know!
This doesn’t have much of anything to do with your list specifically, but I have to vent about a social media post that went viral yesterday (I’m not linking to it because I don’t want some weirdo to harass and threaten the guy on my behalf), because some dude is having a meltdown online over Denzel Washington revealing in an interview that he kissed a man in one scene that ended up being cut from Gladiator II.
I’m sorry, are we still living in the mid-1990s? There are seriously men who see an actor playing a gay character and interpret that as an attack on their heterosexuality? Do they also believe he’s a corrupt police officer who regularly gets drunk before flying commercial airliners while running a drug smuggling empire during the Vietnam War and murdered the King of Scotland in a bid to take the throne?
Sorry, that just really bugged me.
I don’t blame you, it’s nuts.