Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images
Do not call Denzel Washington a “Hollywood actor.” Because if you do, you will get questioned and lectured. That’s a lesson CBS News Sunday Morning host Bill Whitaker found out the hard way over the weekend.
“So this is a pretty star-studded season on Broadway,” Whitaker said to Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, who are currently performing in Othello. “Lots of Hollywood actors and producers coming to…”
“What’s the definition of a Hollywood actor?” Washington interrupted before Whitaker could finish his sentence. “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.”
“I think it’s somebody who’s famous on film. A film actor, great success on film,” Whitaker explained.
“I’m a stage actor who does film. It’s not the other way around,” Washington shot back. “I did stage first. I learned how to act on stage, not on film. 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, and your on, and nobody can help you.”
With that out of the way, Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal both agreed that acting in Othello, now, is a tremendous achievement in their lives. Washington had previously starred in the play when he was just 22-years-old.
“James Early Jones was my northern star when I was in college,” he said. “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. 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.”
Be warned though. Should you want to see 70-year-old Denzel Washington’s interpretation of Othello today, it will cost you. Orchestra-level advance tickets to the show, according to The Guardian, will run you somewhere between $216 and $921. That’s the price you pay to see two big “Hollywood” actors perform on Broadway these days.