“I don’t know what a child actor is”: Denzel Washington Gave Silent Treatment to 9-Year-Old Actress Only to Be Treated The Same in Return

Denzel Washington established himself as a leading star in the 1990s with his films like Malcolm X, The Pelican Brief, Philadelphia, and The Hurricane. He continued to gain acclaim with his other films with one being an action flick in 2004, Man on Fire. With him being in the leading role of John Creasy, he starred alongside Dakota Fanning who was 9 years old at the time.

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Despite the duo being closely connected to each other in the film, the actor decided to give the silent treatment to his young co-star only to receive the same treatment in return.

Denzel Washington Gave Silent Treatment to Dakota Fanning

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Denzel Washington played quite a dramatic role in the 2004 film, Man on Fire which was based on  A. J. Quinnell’s 1890 novel of the same name. To fully engross himself in the role of ex-CIA agent turned mercenary and bodyguard, John Creasy, he decided to give his co-star, Dakota Fanning silent treatment.

In an interview with Phase 9, he praised his then-young co-star for being “mature” and revealed the reason behind not talking to her.

“Dakota is great, mature and very charming. I was trying to get into character so I was keeping my distance from her.”

He even shared that his co-star definitely got the gist of his idea which is why she told late director, Tony Scott (who is highly known for directing action flicks like Top Gun and Days of Thunder) that she would do the same.

“She told Tony that I wasn’t talking to her so she wouldn’t talk to me either.”

Things eventually worked in his favor as he got what he wanted to get into his character. Despite the duo not talking for a while, he admitted that the duo quickly bond with each other.

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He further revealed that the duo’s cold war didn’t last long as he shared that their working space led them to eventually get close to each other.

“We were together a lot, just the two of us, especially in the car, so there’s a lot of time to talk and joke. It was just the way you get to know anyone else.”

In the interview, he even asserted that he was quite protective of his little co-star.

“I was very protective of her. I would not let anyone speak dirty around her even though she said she did not mind I insisted that it would not be right. She is a cool little person.”

Speaking of Fanning, he shared with IGN,

“Dakota is a child, but she is a wonderful actor. And that’s what we were doing together: acting. I don’t know what a child actor is. She’s an actor who’s a child.”

He knew that she has great potential which was clearly visible in her craft. Fanning got prominence at the age of seven for her role in the 2001 film, I Am Sam. She even received a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination at the age of eight, making her the youngest nominee in SAG history. Meanwhile, Man on Fire received a mixed response which grossed $130 million worldwide.

Man on Fire is available on Hulu.

Source: Phase 9