Denzel Washington

Made films the shows talk about.

Wikidata Q42101: matched by corpus:resolve, told apart by the only person by that name on Wikidata.

Counted as actor. The films the hosts said they acted in, which the two lists below run through too: Mo' Better Blues (1990); The Pelican Brief (1993); Crimson Tide (1995); Remember the Titans (2000); Training Day (2001); Inside Man (2006); The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (remake) (2009); The Equalizer (2014); Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017); American Gangster; Cry Freedom; Deja Vu; Gladiator II; Malcolm X; Man on Fire; Out of Time; The Little Things; The Taking of Pelham 123 (Tony Scott remake); Unstoppable; Virtuosity.

Draws on

What the speakers say they, or a film of theirs, drew on. Each is a speaker's account: “the maker said so” when they report the maker's own words, “the host's read” when the read is theirs.

Gladiator (2000): 6 lines

  1. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator II, which they acted in: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). The sequel is very similar in structure and story to the original.
    “it's pretty well known that this movie is very similar in structure and story to the original.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:06:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)
  2. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator II, which they acted in: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). The sequel's plot, structure, approach and pacing mirror the first, forcing a one-to-one comparison.
    “it's just the movie is so similar to the 1st one in terms of plot, structure, approach, focus, pacing.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:15:52 · Mallory Rubin (0.60 sure it was them)
  3. contrast (contrast) · through Gladiator II, which they acted in: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). The sequel tries to feel new by flipping the first film's premise: Marcus Aurelius's dream of Rome becomes its failure.
    “Instead of here's Marcus Aurelius's dream of what Rome can be, it's a bastardization and a compromise and a failure to execute against that promise.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:30 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator II, which they acted in: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). Because it mirrors the first film, outcomes for characters become predictable by inversion.
    “I almost felt like it became impossible not to know what was going to happen to certain people”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:21:39 · Mallory Rubin (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. lineage (lineage) · through Gladiator II, which they acted in: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). Lucius's hand in the grain is a callback to Maximus's hand in the wheat.
    “And it's an obvious callback to Maximus walking through the kind of afterlife feeling the wheat.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:52:34 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  6. craft (craft) · through Gladiator II, which they acted in: Gladiator ⇒ Gladiator II (the host's read). Lucius as Maximus's son is a classic retcon not in the first film's text.
    “it is, is a classic case of reconning.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:53:58 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)

Do the Right Thing (1989): 1 line

  1. lineage (callback) · through Inside Man (2006), which they acted in: Do the Right Thing ⇒ Inside Man (the host's read). In Inside Man the police provide Sal's Pizza to the hostages.
    “In Lee's 2006 film Inside Man, the police provide Sal's Pizza to the hostages.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Do The Right Thing’ With Sean Fennessey and Wesley Morris · 1:15:17 · Sean Fennessey (0.80 sure it was them)

Paul Newman: 1 line

  1. lineage (star lineage) · them, directly: Paul Newman ⇒ Denzel Washington (the host's read). The actor-and-movie-star blend passes from Newman to Denzel to Leo.
    “Newman then passes it to Denzel, then Denzel passes it to Leo.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:43:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

Taken (2008): 1 line

  1. lineage (genre descendant) · through The Equalizer (2014), which they acted in: Taken ⇒ The Equalizer (the host's read). Taken's box office started a subgenre of an older star beating up younger bad guys, and The Equalizer is the first example.
    “There's a whole subgenre of movies after taking exploded at the box office where everybody's like, oh, shoot, we just have to get an old person and let them fight young people”
    The Rewatchables · 'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano · 0:07:29 · Shea Serrano (0.60 sure it was them)

The Taking of Pelham 123: 1 line

  1. lineage (remake) · through The Taking of Pelham 123 (Tony Scott remake), which they acted in: The Taking of Pelham 123 ⇒ The Taking of Pelham 123 (Tony Scott remake) (the host's read). Patton's contrast: the remake needs Denzel Washington, the original has Matthau eating a stale hot dog.
    “you look at the Tony Scott remake, and the guy has to be Denzel Washington”
    Blank Check — Patreon · The Killing with Patton Oswalt (Ad-Free) · 0:42:23 · Griffin Newman (0.50 sure it was them)

Drawn on by

What the speakers say drew on them or a film of theirs, marked the same way.

No line says anything drew on them or a film of theirs.

What the speakers said they did

Acting (26) everyone in acting

Other (6) everyone in other

What was said about them, by kind

career (5)

  1. career (career): Denzel Washington → Virtuosity. Denzel has no real stinker, so Virtuosity, a movie the speaker loves, stands in as the closest thing to his low.
    “So I'd have to go with virtuosity, a movie that I love that we probably will do on rewatchables”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:10:29 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. career (career): Jodie Foster → Denzel Washington. In Inside Man Foster goes toe to toe with Denzel.
    “I'll go toe to toe with Denzel Washington.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:32:11 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  3. career (career): Denzel Washington → Fences. His filmography runs from August Wilson plays like Fences to big blockbusters.
    “he's been on this mission to make films like fences to get August Wilson's films, plays in front of people.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:55:45 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  4. career (career): Denzel Washington → Training Day. Macrinus is a rare outlandish, fun-having role for Denzel, with Alonzo in Training Day the nearest earlier cousin.
    “You could say like Alonzo a little bit in training day is this”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:57:12 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  5. career (career): Denzel Washington → The Equalizer. Denzel's brand is secure from the Equalizer movies, so he can take a risky villain part.
    “I do the equalizer.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:01:48 · Sean Fennessey (0.30 sure it was them)

contrast (1)

  1. contrast (contrast): Denzel Washington → Will Smith. As always, Denzel wins; the only winner of the night.
    “there are no winners tonight at all, except for Denzel Washington, who just continues to win.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:04:31 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)

lineage (1)

  1. lineage (star lineage): Paul Newman → Denzel Washington. The actor-and-movie-star blend passes from Newman to Denzel to Leo.
    “Newman then passes it to Denzel, then Denzel passes it to Leo.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Color of Money’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:43:19 · Sean Fennessey (0.70 sure it was them)

people (1)

  1. people (people): Al Pacino → Denzel Washington. Denzel is another actor who is great at being a screen partner, receiving and giving.
    “That's a Denzel thing is very good at that too.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘The Insider’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:44:02 · Sean Fennessey (0.35 sure it was them)

theme (1)

  1. theme (comparison): Tom Cruise → Denzel Washington. Denzel is the closest comparison because of Tony Scott movies, but better actor who also does Shakespeare.
    “I think Denzel is probably the closer comparison because he does like a lot of Tony Scott movies”
    The Big Picture · The Tom Cruise Hall of Fame · 0:28:14 · Sean Fennessey (0.50 sure it was them)

unmapped (1)

  1. unmapped (only other option): Liam Neeson → Denzel Washington. Only Denzel could have pulled off the actor-in-action-hero role before Neeson.
    “Denzel could have done it. And maybe that's it afterward.”
    The Rewatchables · 'Taken' With Bill Simmons and Shea Serrano · 0:10:28 · Shea Serrano (0.60 sure it was them)

verdict (1)

  1. verdict (verdict): Denzel Washington → Denzel Washington. Denzel has a hit in every decade for four decades and really has no stinkers, which is why the anti-apex exercise fails for him.
    “And he really doesn't have stinkers.”
    The Rewatchables · A CR Month Mailbag! · 0:11:13 · unknown (0.40 sure it was them)

what-if (4)

  1. what-if (what-if): Twister → Denzel Washington. Denzel is too cool, like Charlton Heston as Brody in Jaws, so nobody believes he would lose to a tornado.
    “Charlton Heston wanted to be Brody.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Twister’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:34:01 · Bill Simmons (0.40 sure it was them)
  2. what-if (what-if): Denzel Washington → Training Day. Denzel as Peck in 1990 would be a different movie, essentially Training Day.
    “it's called training day.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Internal Affairs’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan · 1:10:06 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. what-if (what-if): James Caan → Denzel Washington. Denzel is the only other person you could imagine in the part.
    “Denzel's the only person you could ever imagine”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Misery’ With Bill Simmons and Brian Koppelman · 0:34:07 · Brian Koppelman (0.70 sure it was them)
  4. what-if (what-if): Denzel Washington → Seven. Denzel turned down the Mills part, calling it too dark and evil, and later regretted it.
    “Told Entertainment Weekly, the film was, quote, too dark and evil.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Se7en’ With Bill Simmons, Sean Fennessey, and Chris Ryan · 1:00:25 · Bill Simmons (0.60 sure it was them)

Fun items about them

  1. fun, about Denzel Washington: Running gag: Denzel always wins; whenever there is chaos, there is Denzel.
    “Whenever there's chaos, there's Denzel.”
    The Rewatchables · ‘Panic Room’ (Plus a Mini Will Smith–Oscars Recap) With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Sean Fennessey · 0:12:34 · Chris Ryan (0.50 sure it was them)
  2. fun, about Denzel Washington: Denzel is both multi-Oscar-nominated and the surest box-office draw who skips Marvel, and here plays a bisexual, earring-wearing schemer.
    “He's really struck this harmonious balance in his 70s of being wildly acclaimed multi-Oscar nominated actor.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:56:10 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  3. fun, about Denzel Washington: Denzel's Esquire as-told-to piece about getting sober, plus his Oscar-voting jabs, made this an unusually fun promo cycle.
    “he did this esquire as told 2 piece that is fascinating about his life and getting sober”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 0:56:45 · Sean Fennessey (0.40 sure it was them)
  4. fun, about Denzel Washington: Awards: second place behind Kieran Culkin for supporting actor right now.
    “I think he's in 2nd place behind Kieran Culkin right now for real pain.”
    The Big Picture · ‘Gladiator II’ Is Here. Are We Not Entertained? · 1:12:27 · Chris Ryan (0.40 sure it was them)