You may have to revise your notes on how you classify him. This is because Denzel Washington has distanced himself from the Hollywood label, stating in a March 23 interview on CBS Sunday Morning that he doesn’t consider himself a “Hollywood actor.”
“What’s the definition of a Hollywood actor?” Washington asked during the interview. “Myself, I’m from Mt. Vernon, so I’m a ‘Mt. Vernon actor.’ I don’t know what ‘Hollywood’ means.”
“Somebody who’s famous on film? A film actor, great success on film?” the New York native continued.
Washington described himself as “a stage actor who does film; it’s not the other way around.”
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“I did stage first. I learned how to act on stage, not on film,” he explained. “Movies are a filmmaker’s medium. You shoot it, and then you’re gone and they cut together and add music and do all of that. Theater is an actor’s medium. The curtain goes up, nobody can help you.”
Washington launched his acting career in off-Broadway productions before making his film debut in the 1981 comedy-drama Carbon Copy.
Over the years, he has starred in numerous hit films, earning Academy Awards for Glory (1990) and Training Day (2002). He was also nominated by the Academy for “Cry Freedom,” “Malcolm X,” “The Hurricane,” “Flight,” “Fences,” “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” And “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
Washington has returned to Broadway, starring alongside Jake Gyllenhaal in a revival of Othello at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, as reported by the New York Post.
Speaking about reimagining William Shakespeare’s classic tragedy to CBS, Washington said, “People, you know, they ordinarily think, ‘Oh yeah, it’s about jealousy. And he betrays him.’ No, it’s about two soldiers who trust each other with their lives.”
In a 2012 interview with The Talks, Washington dismissed being called a “big Hollywood star.”
“I’m an actor. I’m called a star. That’s not what I am,” he said. “First of all I’m a human being; my profession is acting.”
The “Remember the Titans” actor continued, “People give you titles. They say you’re an up and coming star, then they say you’re a star, then they say you’re a washed-up star. So I don’t get caught up in what I’m called. My job, my profession, is acting.”
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He added, “But I don’t walk around like, ‘Hey! I’m a movie star. Excuse me, can you get my car for me?’ I’m just an entertainer.”
