Summary
The vast and varied career ofDenzel Washingtonwas filled with powerful scenes that highlighted his incredible acting skills. As a two-time Academy Award-winning performer, Washington has earned his reputation as among the finest actors of his generation, and he has never shied away from tackling challenging roles. With a level of nuance rarely seen in Hollywood, Washington consistently delivered career-defining scenes with ease and, in the process, made the extraordinary look simple.
The best scenes inWashington’s movie careerwere scattered throughout the years, as he kept the quality of his work high and never faltered when it came to delivering powerful performances. From portrayals of real-life figures in effective biopics to playing some of the most iconic characters in all fiction, Washington has proven himself capable of excelling across genres and has maintained mainstream appeal among viewers of all ages. While Washington has received acclaim for the power of his roles, it’s important to highlight particular moments and scenes that embody his innate skill.
Malcolm X
Cast
Malcolm X is a biographical film directed by Spike Lee, depicting the life of the influential African American leader and civil rights activist. Starring Denzel Washington in the titular role, the film chronicles Malcolm X’s journey from his troubled youth to his rise as a prominent figure in the Nation of Islam and his subsequent transformation after a pilgrimage to Mecca. The film captures the complexities and evolution of Malcolm X’s beliefs and activism.
By the early 1990s, Denzel Washington had already proven himself to be an actor of immense talent, and for his role inGlory, he had won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. However, inSpike Lee’s extraordinary biopicMalcolm X, Washington took things to another level with his portrayal of the African-American civil rights leader. Washington transformed himself into an uncompromising leader as he took viewers on a journey through Malcolm’s controversial life, the context of his fight against racism, and his eventual assassination.
While this epic biopic was full of powerful scenes from Washington, Malcolm X’s address to the people was a moment that gave context to the entire film and proved the actor’s immense talent. Washington delivered the speech with calm composure as audiences listened with bated breath while he explained how Black people had been led astray by politicians in America. This scene highlighted Washington’s commitment to challenging roles and the fearless way he chose overtly political parts and made a name for himself in Hollywood on his own terms.
Philadelphia
Philadelphia (1994) is a legal drama directed by Jonathan Demme, starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington. Tom Hanks plays Andrew Beckett, a lawyer who is fired due to his HIV-positive status, while Denzel Washington portrays Joe Miller, a personal injury attorney who takes on Beckett’s wrongful dismissal case. The film addresses themes of discrimination, prejudice, and social justice in the context of the early AIDS epidemic.
Philadelphiawas a trailblazing movie within Hollywood, as it was among the first mainstream films to explicitly address the AIDS epidemic and the unjust homophobia associated with it. Together with Tom Hanks as Andy Beckett, an HIV-positive man suing his former employer, Denzel Washington gave an extraordinary performance as Joe Miller, the lawyer representing him. While Hanks took home the Academy Award for his role, Washington was just as essential to the film’s success and gave a powerful Oscar-worthy performance.
The best example of Washington’s acting prowess came through the many courtroom arguments seen inPhiladelphia. A prime example of this was Joe Miller’s “get it out of the closet speech,” which saw him bravely pointing out the homophobia at the heart of their court case and firmly attacking society’s fear of homosexuals and AIDS. By taking the court’s prejudices and throwing them back at them, Washington highlighted that the court case inPhiladelphiawas about far more than one man’s unfair dismissal and represented a systematic issue of hatred and fear.
The Hurricane
The Hurricane (1999), directed by Norman Jewison, stars Denzel Washington as Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a middleweight boxer wrongly imprisoned for murder. The film depicts Carter’s journey through the American legal system and the efforts of a diverse group of supporters aiming to prove his innocence.
Denzel Washington has always been incredibly talented at capturing the essence of real people whenever he portrays them in biopics. For his role as Rubin Carter inThe Hurricane, Washington took audiences on a journey about a once-promising boxer whose life was destroyed after he was wrongly convicted of a triple murder. WhileCarter’s life had previously been immortalized in a song by Bob Dylan, Washington’s performance truly showcased his painstaking struggles.
For nearly 20 years, Carter struggled to cope with life in prison, and the scene in which he was released from solitary confinement was truly one of Washington’s very best. As the prison guard pleaded with Carter to cooperate with him, Washington’s stern determination not to be treated like a common criminal shone through. Carter never gave up on fighting for his freedom, and the intensity with which he wanted to seek justice oozed out of every word Washington spoke.
Training Day
Denzel Washington and Alonzo Harris star in Training Day, an action thriller that follows the two stars as Los Angeles narcotics officers. Jake Hoyt is prepping on his first major training day for a promotion as he spends spend a tense twenty-four hours across several L.A. crime-ridden neighborhoods as Jake sees the danger and horrors of the job.
Denzel Washington as the crooked LAPD cop Det. Alonzo Harris wasthe best villain role in Washington’s entire career, as he captured the brutal corruption at the core of his character. Washington played the role with an air of menace throughout. While Ethan Hawke’s portrayal of Officer Jake Hoyt, a straight-laced, ambitious cop on his first day as a detective, was a solid juxtaposition to this corruption.Washington had plenty of incredible scenes inTraining Day, but the moment he killed the narcotics officer Roger was the tipping point where Hoyt realized things had gone too far.
Washington played this scene with an air of cool confidence as he shot the quarrelsome, arrogant, corrupt, and greedy LAPD officer like it was nothing. Hawke’s reaction in this scene must also be commended, as his fear and uncertainty about the situation were palpable. The scene where Roger was murdered in cold blood by Alonzo stood out as particularly jarring because they were associates with one another, and the way that Washington shoThe Equalizert him and immediately came up with a cover-up plan showcased that he was capable of anything.
American Gangster
American Gangster is a 2007 crime film directed by Ridley Scott, featuring Denzel Washington as Frank Lucas, a heroin kingpin in Harlem, and Russell Crowe as Richie Roberts, the detective determined to bring him down. The film explores the rise of Lucas in the drug trade and the eventual intersection of their lives amidst the backdrop of a corrupt and morally complex society.
American Gangsterwas one of Ridley Scott’s greatest movies and boasted two incredible performances from Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. With a story loosely based on the real criminal career of Frank Lucas, a Black American drug smuggler whose operation rivaled even the Italian mafia, Washington’s cool charisma and stern, no-nonsense style made him the perfect candidate for the role of Lucas. While Washington had plenty of incredible scenes inAmerican Gangster, the moment he came face-to-face with law officer Richie Roberts stood out.
Frank Lucas’s interrogation scene was a masterclass in acting, asCrowe and Washington played off against one another in a meeting the entire movie had been building toward. The scene had all the tenets of Washington’s best work as he waxed lyrical about the hypocrites of the law and showcased how Lucas justified his crimes to himself. Driven by two strong performances and an incredible script, the interrogation inAmerican Gangsterwas a thrilling scene of cat-and-mouse that solidified Washington’s reputation as one of the best actors of all time.
Flight
Written by John Gatins and directed by Robert Zemeckis, Flight is a Drama featuring Denzel Washington in the lead role as Captain Whip Whitaker, a commercial airline pilot with a troubled lifestyle. The plot sees Whip landing a plane and being heralded as a hero while knowing that he was responsible for the crash in the first place.
Denzel Washington teamed up with director Robert Zemeckis for the excellent dramaFlight, in which he starred as an alcoholic pilot. With a litany of personal problems and drugs and alcohol in his system, the most intense scene inFlightcame whenCaptain Whip Whitaker miraculously crash-landed the plane after a mechanical failure. Although Whitaker was first hailed as a hero, this narrative quickly changed when the truth started to spill out after an investigation into the crash highlighted his addiction issues.
Flightwas a thrilling film with a fantastic Washington performance, and the entire story was based on the power of its plane crash scene. With cool confidence, Washington guided his co-pilot and ensured the safety of everyone on board, even while dealing with the effects of his intoxication. It was a testament to Washington’s acting skills that he was able to simultaneously play to so many layers, which included his role as a brave pilot, a struggling addict, and an inebriated man with care and complexity.
The Equalizer
The Equalizer is an action thriller directed by Antoine Fuqua starring Denzel Washington as Robert McCall, a former intelligence operative who lives a quiet life in Boston. When he encounters a young girl named Teri, played by Chloë Grace Moretz, threatened by violent Russian gangsters, McCall comes out of retirement to use his skills to restore justice. The film reimagines the 1980s TV series of the same name.
Despite having such a varied and interesting career,Denzel Washington has only done one franchise, and that was as Robert McCall inThe Equalizerseries. McCall was a former Marine and former Central Intelligence Agency Case Officer who returned to his role to protect a teenage trafficking victim from members of the Russian mafia. This powerful motivation saw him ruthlessly take out a gang of Russian gangsters in the first action sequence inThe Equalizer, which hinted at McCall’s extraordinarily brutal nature.
In the most effective scene inThe Equalizer, Washington sat with his murder victim, Slavi, and spoke to him as he bled out and faced the consequences of his evil behavior. In this moment,Washington proved McCall’s potential as a new franchise staras he calmly told his victim that he would die while the teenage girls' “life will go on.” This scene was packed with meaning as Washington subtly muttered “I’m sorry” under his breath, which was directed not at his victim but at his late wife, whom he promised he was done with his murderous ways.
Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Roman J. Israel, Esq. is an Oscar-nominated film starring Denzel Washington. Washington plays Roman J. Israel, Esq, who abandons his idealistic beliefs as a defense attorney to take extreme action as a civil rights advocate. The film was released in 2017 and directed by Dan Gilroy, who previously helmed Nightcrawler starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
One ofDenzel Washington’s most underrated performanceswas as the title character inRoman J. Israel, Esq. Washington was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the powerful legal drama about an idealistic defense attorney in the midst of a personal and professional crisis. WhileRoman J. Israel, Esqunderperformed at the box office, it stood as among Washington’s greatest roles as he portrayed his real-life character with nuance and depth in several extraordinary scenes.
One moment inRoman J. Israel, Esq, that encapsulated his entire character was the ‘White People’s Court’ scene as Isreal spoke to a prosecuting attorney about his case. The rival attorney was unwilling to listen to Israel’s plea for bail, and Washington’s powerful yet reserved speech showcased his character’s entire ethos. As Washington explained how the young man found himself in legal trouble, he stated, “Each one of us is greater than the worst thing we’ve ever done,” in a quote that effectively demonstrated Israel’s empathic nature and willingness to fight for those left behind by society.
Fences
Fences is a period drama written by American playwright August Wilson. It was directed by Denzel Washington, who also plays Troy Maxson, a garbage collector whose checkered past prevented him from fulfilling his potential as a baseball player. The movie was well-received by both critics and viewers, with many praising Washington’s performance as the bitter sanitation worker.
Not only was Denzel Washington an extraordinary actor, but he was also a talented director capable of getting the best out of himself in his acting roles. This was certainly the case for his part as Troy Maxson inFences,the adaptation of the play by August Wilson that Washington directed and produced himself. While this dialogue-driven story of a working-class African-American father in the 1950s was full of powerful scenes, none could match the “I ain’t got to like you” speech.
This moment came when Cory Maxson confronted his father about why he never felt he liked him. In response, Washington summed up the pain and difficulties of being a working-class father providing for his family. With intense passion, Troy told his son that he does not have to like him, as he has devoted his life to providing for him and giving him the skills he needs to make it in the world. While this scene was full of confrontation, it was also packed with love, shown through acts of service and the unspoken power of a father-son bond.
The Tragedy of Macbeth
The Tragedy of Macbeth is a cinematic adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic play, following Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis, who is driven by prophecy and ambition. Influenced by his wife, he murders King Duncan to seize the throne of Scotland, setting off a chain of power struggles and guilt.
The illustrious career of Denzel Washington was packed with complex and difficult movie roles that highlighted his position as among the best actors. While Washington has proven himself an action star, a dramatic powerhouse, and an often impressive comedic performer, he truly pushed himself to the limit with his role as Macbeth in Joel Coen’sThe Tragedy of Macbeth.This Shakespearean tragedy was a true tour de force for Washington, and immense power can be felt in his “tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow” soliloquy.
As a scene first performed in 1606, there were many ways Washington could have tackled this speech, as the means through which it’s presented provided incredible insight into Macbeth’s psychology. As a character tethered on the verge of madness, Washington controlled his acting as he stayed reserved even while his entire world was falling apart around him.The Tragedy of Macbethmay seem like an anomaly inDenzel Washington’scareer, but the ease with which he played one of the most complex characters in all literature proved no role was too challenging for him.
