Denzel Washington’s Best Movies: At 69, He’s One of Hollywood’s Favorites

In “Gladiator 2” Denzel Washington plays Macrinus, a nobleman who, through deception, succeeds in becoming Roman emperor.

However, the 69-year-old actor has openly said that ‘Gladiator II’ will probably be one of his last films. And he plans to retire after doing some of the projects he already has in his sights, including “Black Panther” and the film adaptations of “Othello” and “King Lear.”

What did Denzel Washington do before he became an actor?

Before becoming the Hollywood star we all know, Denzel Washington lived a quiet life away from the limelight. In fact, he had several jobs that could be considered ordinary.

One of the first was as a garbage collector. He also worked as a barber’s assistant. These jobs helped support him while he studied journalism at Fordham University.

However, Denzel Washington He took a semester off, working as a creative arts director at a summer camp in Connecticut. It was there that his interest in acting arose.

When he returned to university he started taking acting classes, took part in theater productions and there was no turning back.

Denzel graduated and then won a scholarship to study at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. He then returned to New York to enter the world of acting and the rest is history.

He is the African-American actor with the most Oscar nominations (10 in total), winning the golden statuette in 1989 for his role in the film “Glory Times” and in 2002 for “Training Day”.

While it’s time for him to retire, here are other movies where you can see Denzel Washington’s work:

Saga of “The Vigilante” with Denzel Washington

One of Denzel Washington’s most famous works is the epic “The Equalizer”, in which he plays Robert McCall, an ex-agent who fakes his death to live a quiet life.

But his sense of justice makes him leave the comfort of his home to help those most in need.

In the first film McCall takes on a Russian mafia to save a young woman, in the second he seeks revenge for the death of a close friend and in the third, called “The Vigilante: Final Chapter”, he takes on an Italian mafia.

“The Book of Eli” with Denzel Washington

“The Book of Eli” is a post-apocalyptic film in which Denzel Washington plays Eli, a man who travels across the United States protecting a sacred book that contains the secrets to save humanity.

However, there is another man, Carnegie, played by Gary Oldman, who will seek to stop his plans as he seeks to keep the book in order to control humanity.

“Barriers”, film by Denzel Washington

In “Barreras” (“Fences”) Denzel Washington plays Troy Maxon, a sewer worker who as a young man dreamed of becoming a professional baseball player, but did not succeed because colored players were not allowed in the majors.

So Troy must settle for a humble life. But even though he tries to be a good husband and father, he has to deal with his frustrations and resentments.

For his performance in this film, Denzel Washington was nominated for an Oscar. The film deals with interesting themes such as racism, unfulfilled dreams and complicated family relationships.

“Clash of the Titans” by Denzel Washington

One of Denzel Washington’s most popular movies is “Clash of the Titans” (“Remember the Titans”), which is based on true events and follows the story of a high school football team in Virginia in 1971.

In it he plays coach Herman Boone, who must unite the players amid a federal mandate for racial integration. Thus the group ends up becoming a symbol of unification in the community.

“The Flight” by Denzel Washington

Denzel Washington plays Captain William Whitaker in “Flight,” an airline pilot with serious drug and alcohol problems.

During a flight under his responsibility, the plane suffers a catastrophic failure, but William performs an emergency maneuver and saves most of the passengers.

However, subsequent investigations reveal that the accident may have been his fault for in-flight influence. From this, his legal and personal situation is complicated.