Denzel Washington is doing more than breaking box office records with his blockbuster Broadway outing with Jake Gyllenhaal — he’s setting the record straight on how he feels about being labeled a “Hollywood actor” who occasionally graces the New York stage.
“I’m a stage actor who does film, it’s not the other way around. I did stage first. I learned how to act on stage, not on film,” Washington declared to “CBS News Sunday Morning” host Bill Whitaker after the journalist pointed out the amount of “Hollywood actors” who have roles on Broadway this season. (Washington is co-leading Shakespearean tragedy “Othello,” which opened Sunday.)
Watch a clip from the interview below:
Responding to Whitaker’s thought that Hollywood actors are infiltrating New York theater, Washington pressed the interviewer for the “definition of a Hollywood actor.”
“Myself, I’m from Mt. Vernon, so I’m a Mt. Vernon actor. I don’t know what ‘Hollywood’ means. That’s something — I know it’s a place,” the two-time Oscar winner said, referring to his hometown in New York.
“I think it’s somebody who’s famous on film. A film actor — great success on film …” Whitaker began explaining.
Washington then expounded on what differentiates a film actor from a stage actor.
“Movies are filmmakers’ medium,” he said. “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, and you’re on and nobody can help you.”
The decorated actor, who also won the 2010 Tony Award for “Fences” and boasts over 40 years on stage and screen, credits his training at the American Conservatory Theater with preparing him with his versatile, acclaimed career. After performing in several Off Broadway productions, he had made his Broadway debut in Ron Milner’s “Checkmates.”
Washington went on to share that he’s always dreamed of one day playing Othello, a role and performance he hopes will make James Earl Jones — who famously starred as the character in the 1981 revival — proud.
“James Early Jones was my northern star when I was in college. He was who I wanted to be when I was in college. You know, he had done ‘The Emperor Jones’ just like me, he did ‘Othello.’ It was his ‘Othello, but of course, it was my ‘Othello,’” Washington said. “I didn’t get to see his ‘Othello,’ but I know it wasn’t as good as my 22-year-old interpretation — but, you know, it’s my turn now. “
Watch Washington’s full “CBS News Sunday Morning” interview below:
