On September 1, this year, Sony is bringing the legendary Robert McCall to finish his trilogy in all his glory with The Equalizer 3. Audiences, for one last time, will get to see Denzel Washington set the timer and take out the bad guys with utmost precision.
As much as he loves a great script that he can use to explore his already massive range, Washington has claimed that he absolutely loses himself in playing a villain, which even got him an Academy Award.
The Equalizer director – Antoine Fuqua knows how to tap into Washington’s dark and mysterious side that he leverages to put together a strong character that can even intimidate the protagonist.
The duo, in the past, have worked their magic in a crime thriller that Denzel Washington recalled, was not his original choice.
Denzel Washington Loved Playing Alonzo Harris
The ego-maniac and corrupt cop in Training Day (2001) – Alonzo Harris, written by David Ayer put Denzel Washington in a place he had never been before.
As he hung around with a rookie Ethan Hawke in his Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Washington got incredibly thorough with his character and improvised more than half of his scenes that did the trick.
In a conversation with Female, Washington said,
“I have to admit I had a lot of fun playing Harris in Training Day. He is an arrogant thief, liar, killer, and egomaniac. He’s a sick, sick man who has no heart. I’ve known for a while now that I’ve wanted to play someone like Harris.”
Playing a villain, though, was not initially on Denzel Washington’s cards. But when he got the taste of it, he went on to make another – American Gangster (2007).
Read more: Denzel Washington Reportedly Turned Down a Major Role in Upcoming Marvel Movie
Denzel Washington Reveals Who Made Him Pick Such Films
The 68-year-old Washington, in his conversation with Entertainment Tonight, revealed that his own son – John David Washington wanted him to explore the uncharted waters.
The 38-year-old who made his debut with HBO’s Ballers and then went on to understand the high stakes of entropy with Christopher Nolan in Tenet, used to help his father by reading the scripts.
According to Washington, his son loved the idea of him being absolutely free to navigate the range of his craft.
“It’s cliche to say, but bad guys have more fun. You can get away with more,” he said. “In playing a real character who’s heroic, you’re kind of stuck. There’s only so much you can get away with. But [the] bad guy can say anything.”
Denzel Washington, in his brief time as a theater artist, has experienced that his character can never be a truly bad guy. Be it his Oscar-winning performance as Alonzo Harris or Frank Lucas in American Gangster, he became an actor whose range can’t be matched.
John David Washington’s The Creator releases on 29 September, this year.
Source: Showbiz Cheat Sheet
