I started realizing that there is an end to all of this. Who would I like to work with before it's too late, he says to TT from Los Angeles.
The American actor had come to a point in life where the job didn't feel so exciting anymore. But then came the opportunity to work with director Spike Lee again.
His enthusiasm helped to get my enthusiasm going, says Washington.
Washington has previously made several films with Spike Lee, including "Mo' better blues" and "Malcolm X". And the film that Lee was so enthusiastic about is "Highest 2 lowest" – a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa's thriller "Himmel och helvete" from 1963 (which in turn was based on Ed McBain's book "Hotet").
Kidnapped by mistake
In the new film, Washington plays a wealthy record producer whose son is kidnapped. Or so you think – for the kidnapper has mistakenly taken the son of the record producer's chauffeur. What responsibility does he have now? Should he pay the ransom anyway?
The project first came to me and I started thinking about who could do it. So I called "my boy" Spike and he wanted to do it. It's wonderful with someone who is still so enthusiastic and who makes it infectious, says Washington.
Denzel Washington has been in a Kurosawa reinterpretation before, "The magnificent seven", which was based on "De sju samurajerna". He has not seen any of the originals, however.
I didn't want to risk it affecting me, that I would see something that I really liked and start thinking about how we would do it. And the difference is great between our film and "Himmel och helvete". It takes place in Japan in 1963, our film in New York today.
Got a new spark
Washington's new spark has made him now have a number of films planned.
I will be filming with Fernando Mereilles and with Antoine Fuqua and with Ryan Coogler. And I have talked to Steve McQueen about doing something together.
He thinks a lot about AI and how it can come to affect the film industry.
Technology is technology. But the difference is that we humans have a soul, we can get hurt, it hurts. Does a machine have any feelings? Not yet, at least. We can feel, we can be affected.
Everything about AI is still in its infancy. But it's going fast now, that's for sure.
Age: 70 years.
Family: Wife Pauletta, four children.
Lives: In Los Angeles.
Occupation: Actor.
Previous roles, selected: "A cry for freedom", "Men of honor", "Mo' better blues", "Malcolm X", "Much ado about nothing", "Philadelphia", "Devil in a blue dress", "In the tracker's trail", "The hurricane", "Training day", "Man on fire", "The book of Eli", "Safe house", "The equalizer", "The magnificent seven", "Gladiator 2".
Current with: "Highest 2 lowest" which premieres on Apple TV+ 5/9.
