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In 2004, Denzel Washington had emerged as Hollywood’s cock of the walk after starring in films like Remember the Titans, The Hurricane, and Training Day.
Despite being one of the most recognizable actors in the world, Denzel has always been uncomfortable with the bullshit that comes with fame.
Way back in 1996, he told Oprah that he “never wanted to be famous.” In 2013, he told the Guardian that he doesn’t have any actor friends because he’s unwilling to kiss-ass at Hollywood parties to secure roles.
Katie Couric paid the price for lumping Washington in with other Hollywood royalty in a 2004 interview during a promotional run for their film The Manchurian Candidate.
In her appearance on the “Everything Iconic with Danny Pellegrino” podcast this week, Couric was asked about peculiar celebrity and political interviews and recalled the Dateline interview with Denzel 15 years ago.
Couric asked Denzel if he agrees with the notion that “Hollywood folks should stick to acting.” Denzel did not like this.
Via Page Six:
“I don’t know what Hollywood folks are, first of all,” he retorted. “Hollywood is a town that has some stars on the sidewalk. I don’t know anybody from there. So, I don’t — that’s like saying — calling you a ‘type’ of folks. I’m not a Hollywood folk. I don’t know who they are.”
“OK, all right, well, let me rephrase the question,” she responded. “Are you one of those people that —”
“Ah, there you go,” Washington interrupted. “Am I one of those people? Hmmm, isn’t that interesting?”
“Oh, stop, stop, stop,” Couric replied, to which Washington answered, “No, don’t stop. I heard what you just said. ‘Am I one of those people?’ No, I’m not.”
Couric countered by telling the star, “No, are you an actor who would rather not —”
“No, I’m not that either,” Washington added in response to being labeled an actor. “I’m a human being. My job is acting.”
Couric claims she felt awful about how the interview went, but Denzel made it right with his wallet.
“I just remember leaving it and thinking, ‘God’ … I don’t think I said anything wrong … I don’t know what happened. Anyway, I think he must have been having a really bad day, because he later wrote a big check to my colon cancer organization, which I thought was super sweet.”
She continued, “I love him. I admire him so much, he’s one of my favorite actors, but I remember walking out feeling kind of shaken that he had gone after me in a way that was completely weirdly uncalled for.”
Moral of the story: Denzel doesn’t need to like you to do well by you.
Denzel was all the way in his bag in this scene. pic.twitter.com/xCF3B712pn
— Aamil (@niilexis) April 27, 2020
[h/t Page Six]