Denzel Washington knows a thing or two about playing historical figures.
He was nominated for an Academy Award playing Stephen Biko in “Cry Freedom,” and again for playing the title role in “Malcolm X.” He won Hollywood’s most coveted prize as a Civil War union soldier in “Glory.” And now he could repeat as a Best Actor nominee for his performance as real-life boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.
But transforming himself into his latest award-winning character (a role that’s already earned him a Golden Globe) presented a few intimidating challenges.
Besides the mental challenges of playing a fighter who was wrongly imprisoned for 19 years, Washington had to literally learn the ropes and discipline his body into a lean and fierce fighting machine. That took over a year of training under the supervision of real-life boxing trainer Terry Claybon, and the effort has been noticed by audiences, critics and Academy members as well.
“It’s the most difficult sport I’ve ever done,” said the actor. “I played football, baseball, basketball, ran track, did everything in high school and college. None are as tough as this. It’s power, conditioning, speed, natural ability, all of those things. But it’s your will. It’s imposing your will.
It’s pure. There are no timeouts. You’ve got three minutes and then you go sit down. I like it. I like fighting.”
The actor was so taken with the sport and the role that he became a veritable reincarnation of Carter’s indomitable spirit. Critics have uniformly praised the actor’s achievement, ranking it among his best performances and predicting another possible Oscar knockout.
The platitudes haven’t been so much that Washington impersonates the real hurricane, but that he simply breathes new life into him.
“Everybody has their own style, so I didn’t feel pressure to imitate his style. I had to adapt it to what I could do, and what I couldn’t do,” said the 44-year-old actor. “He was 5 foot 8 and 155 pounds. I’m 6 foot 1 and was able to get down to 175. One hundred and fifty-five wouldn’t have worked for me. I’m just too big for that.”
But the actor wasn’t too large for the story. Although he wasn’t able to secure the rights to the story eight years ago when “Hurricane” producer-co-writer Armyan Bernstein successfully obtained them, Washington remained humble, consistently reminding the new owners of his passion for the role.
In the end, everyone involved agreed that Washington was the perfect choice for the project, and Norman Jewison was the right man to direct “The Hurricane.” The actor, who had worked with Jewison at the beginning of his career on “A Soldier’s Story,” looked forward to a rematch.
“Norman is an actor’s director. He’ll make sure that the room feels like what the scene feels like, as he sees the scene evolving. He’s one of the best I’ve worked with at giving up the space so that we can do our thing,” said Washington. “I thought I knew everything when I worked with him the first time. I was younger, and I just thought I knew a whole lot. Now I know that I don’t know that much. That’s due to my maturing as an actor and in front of the screen.”
As the actor himself has evolved and worked on a variety of projects with a variety of directors, he’s established himself as a leading man who crosses the racial boundaries and appeals to all kinds of audiences. Whether he’s a player in commercial fare such as the hit “The Bone Collector” or starring in political films such as “Cry Freedom,” Washington tackles his roles with equal fervor and humility.
At the end of the day, he believes his projects are all equally cinema … even “The Hurricane.”
“It’s not a sermon,” said the actor. “It’s a strong film, and it’s entertainment. It’s a fine line, as the promoter, to not make it too precious or too serious. It’s still just a movie.
“You know, it’s ‘get some popcorn and soda and go to the movies.’ I think it’s a very good movie. Hopefully, it can stand on that.”
