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July 21, 2020
INSIDE STORY
July 21, 2020
Over the last three decades, Denzel Washington has been one of the most consistent box office draws in Hollywood. Washington says that many years after success first came his way, he realised that his wife of 30 years, his preacher father and the Bible have been the true cornerstones of his success.
Let’s get one thing straight: Denzel is not a celebrity. He’s an actor. A theatre trained actor at that. “My job is to act and I want to be good at it. I’m not even trying to be famous; I’m simply trying to do my work,” he says firmly.
His work is rarely less than brilliant. A Soldier’s Story, Glory, Malcolm X, Philadelphia, Training Day, The Hurricane and American Gangster are some of Washington’s career highlights – all iconic roles that make him one of Hollywood’s most prestigious leading men.
He’s the last of a dying breed, uncontaminated by the Hollywood razzmatazz and a pure film actor. He confesses: “I don’t read reviews but you get a sense of what’s going on. And that feels good.”
Despite turning 65 last Christmas, Washington still excels in the action sequences that have patterned so many of his movie successes.
“I take that stuff seriously; it’s good for me and good for the integrity of the film. People are paying to see me so that’s who they should see, not some guy in a wig. Although the guys in the wigs are very good,” he says with a laugh.
“For The Equalizer movies, I filmed over 90 percent of the scenes myself. Navy SEALs were drafted in to help train the cast and I spent about six months training, boxing and doing martial arts in preparation for each movie,” Denzel reveals.
And he explains that “even though it can be exhausting, there’s a lot of satisfaction in getting your body in optimal shape and also being able to execute all the stunt work.”
For instance, look no further than the Best Actress in a Supporting Role award for her performance as Queen Elizabeth I in John Madden’s Shakespeare in Love in 1998. Her Academy Award came despite the fact that she only appeared on screen for eight minutes, something that is truly a credit to her dramatic expertise.
It’s perhaps through the James Bond series that we became most familiar with this actress whose persona and approach to the industry has humility at its heart.
After joining the Bond franchise in 1995 as M, the only woman the leading man will answer to, Dench appeared in seven 007 movies; and finally, she said goodbye to spies, villains and espionage in 2012 in Skyfall – though she had a small cameo role in Spectre three years later.
Many thought her death in the movie was to act as a metaphor for a slowing of acting projects but this isn’t the case.
From the title role in Stephen Frears’ Philomena to reprising Evelyn Greenslade in The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – across Murder on the Orient Express, Red Joan, All Is True, Cats and others – ‘grey pound’ movies are being popularised as moviegoers continue to evolve.
Dame Judi reflects: “I am glad that older and more mature actors are getting a look-in. The movie world will always have young stars in it – it needs them and thrives off them.”
She continues: “But it’s been wrong to suppose than anyone over the age of about 40 is irrelevant and what we’ve seen in the past decade or so has been a real cultural shift in which older generations have been allowed to take the lead in films that usually would have been reserved for younger types.”
Does that give her the confidence and courage to push on further with new projects?
She explains: “It’s not so much about being brave. It has just as much to do with security. Trevor Nunn once came to wish me luck on a first night and asked me why I’m always in tears on a first night.”
Dench continues: “I replied that it’s because I never think I’m going to be employed again. And although it’s quite a jokey light-hearted thing to say, I still have that fear deep inside. Perhaps it’s healthy to be like that and maybe I don’t want it to change.”
Fear may keep this actress on her toes but not at the expense of personal pride.
“What I don’t like is when you play something and after that, you are sent scripts exactly like the person you’ve recently played. I don’t want to play similar characters – my preference is to play people who are as different as possible,” she reveals.
Not one for negativity, Dame Judi is refreshing in the way she transforms what some may deem as regrets into learning experiences.
She admits: “I never liked The Merchant of Venice. It’s the only Shakespeare play I don’t like but my late husband Michael and I did it the year after we were married and I turned it from a play I didn’t like into one I was glad that I’d done.”
“I think that’s the way you have to approach anything in life. Take the positive out of the experience and use it as a mental building block for the next thing,” she elaborates.
Having devoted some six decades to her craft, Dench is surrounded by friends in the industry.
“The best thing is you don’t have to worry about making a fool of yourself or anything like that because they have seen you making a fool of yourself for years and years!” she says with a laugh.
Dame Judi has struggled with macular degeneration in recent years; but despite that, she’s eliminated the ‘R word’ from her vocabulary: She declares: “I don’t use the word ‘retire’.”
– Compiled by hub.branded
