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Sun 11 May 2025 18:15, UK
In an actor’s ideal world, every movie they make would be a triumph, and every role they play would resonate with them personally and with audiences at large. However, we don’t live in that world, and quite often, the things that actors are passionate about don’t necessarily strike cinemagoers in such a profound way. Denzel Washington’s experience with this scenario shocked the star, and the fallout truly made an impression on him.
Throughout his career, Washington has played a wide variety of roles in an equally wide variety of genres. Having said that, his characters in these films tend to have certain traits synonymous with the Oscar-winning star. He plays confident, powerful, forceful characters who believe implicitly in what they do. Sometimes, this manifests in swagger and arrogance; other times, it reveals an unbreakable moral code.
However, every actor likes to stretch themselves whenever possible by seeking out roles that challenge them to do something different. For Washington, this opportunity came when Nightcrawler writer/director Dan Gilroy approached him with a screenplay entitled Roman J Israel, Esq. He had written the script on spec with Washington in mind, despite having never met the intimidating star, and was nervous when they met to discuss it.
To his delight, Washington wasn’t only interested in the lead role but also agreed to star in the film at that first meeting. The role of Israel, a neurodiverse attorney recruited by a large law firm and thrust into a courtroom setting after years of mainly being used as a research expert at his old firm, fascinated the actor, who saw him as a chance to escape the “alpha male” zone he’d primarily worked within.
Inhabiting the character of someone who looked, sounded, and thought differently than Washington was undoubtedly a draw, but he also had a personal connection to the material, which helped seal the deal. “We all know people like Roman,” he told The Inquirer. “I have a good friend whose son is on the spectrum and works in a law firm, in a capacity similar to Roman. The thing about Roman is that he can read any book with total recall, but he can’t read people. That is really fascinating to play.”
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So, Washington threw himself into playing Israel, complete with unflattering glasses and suits that looked like they came straight from the 1970s. It was a passion project for the star, and he knew audiences would likely be shocked to see him playing something so wildly different from his usual roles.
Still, he didn’t expect to be shamed online for his appearance, even if it did inform his performance in the end. “You’re reading these comments and you’re thinking, ‘Wow, so that’s how it is,’” the disappointed star admitted. “You get just a glimpse, just a taste of what people like Roman have to live with every day. It was instructive.”
Sadly, Washington’s disappointment likely grew when he saw how the movie was received upon release. It was by far and away his weakest commercial performer in decades, making a scant $13 million worldwide on a budget of $22 million. This number seemed even worse because it was sandwiched in between the blockbusters The Magnificent Seven and The Equalizer 2, which made $162 million and $190 million, respectively. Even Fences, the stage adaptation Washington directed and starred in, managed to gross nearly three times as much as Roman J Israel Esq.
To make matters worse, the film wasn’t particularly well-liked by critics. The consensus was that Washington’s performance was special – so exceptional, in fact, that he was nominated for ‘Best Actor’ at the Oscars – but the film itself struggled to live up to his excellence within it. It was a strange situation overall, with Washington contending for awards with a movie barely anyone saw, but ultimately he was just happy he got to play a character so close to his heart.
It was all summed up perfectly by Washington when he said something that took on great irony after the movie was dismissed in such brutal fashion. “We overlook people like Roman,” he claimed. “It’s easy for them to fall through the cracks of society. And maybe for that reason, I can tell you I love this guy more than any other character I’ve played in my life.”
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