Denzel Washington’s Favorite Movie Role Was In A 2017 Flop

With nine Oscar nominations and two wins, Denzel Washington’s legacy as one of the finest actors in Hollywood is well-established. But even without the accolades, the man’s talent speaks for itself. Often this is literally the case. Alfred Hitchcock once told Francois Truffaut, “The chief requisite for an actor is the ability to do nothing well” — something that frequent Hitch collaborator James Stewart had down to a tee. Even Stewart’s quiet charisma arguably can’t quite match Denzel’s effortless magnetism, though. The man can make doing nothing look good like no other. But he can also do a lot when required, and has demonstrated his adaptability across one of the most impressive filmographies in Hollywood.

In 2017, Washington spoke to The Inquirer about his approach to acting at the age of 60. “I’m trying to get better,” Washington told the outlet, “This ain’t dress rehearsal. I really don’t know how many years I have left on this planet, so I just want to maximize the effort and utilize the gifts I’ve been given.” While his “Equalizer” films might not speak to that sentiment, there are several projects in the actor’s recent filmography that do. In 2021, for example, Washington played the lead role in Joel Coen’s expressionist nightmare “The Tragedy of Macbeth” after previously directing and starring in an adaptation of August Wilson’s “Fences” in 2016 — both of which were critically acclaimed and among his highest-rated films on Rotten Tomatoes.

As such, it would be a reasonable guess to say that, if Washington were to pick his favorite role, it might be in one of these celebrated efforts. However, such a guess would be entirely wrong.

Everybody has heard of “Malcom X” or “Philadelphia,” or that film that convinced my young self that Denzel Washington was a force to be reckoned with: “Training Day.” Heck you might even be familiar with Denzel’s highest-rated movie on Rotten Tomatoes, 1989’s “Glory,” in which Washington played an escaped enslaved person who becomes a private in one of the Union’s earliest Black regiments. But have you ever heard of “Roman J. Israel, Esq.?”

This 2017 legal drama saw Washington portray the titular lawyer, who though brilliant and principled, is severely lacking when it comes to social skills. The neurodiverse attorney is used mainly for research by the small law firm for which he works. But all the while, he’s been crafting a brief that details how to reform the justice system and deal with its myriad issues. After his boss and mentor dies, Roman is recruited by a much larger law firm run by George Pierce (Colin Farrell) and finds himself thrust into the action of the courtroom. His activist principles are quickly put to the test, and Roman undergoes a personal crisis after being mugged by someone he tried to help. As the story unfolds, Roman is forced to reckon with his burgeoning cynicism.

Written and directed by Dan Gilroy, who also wrote and directed the ambitious and depraved neo-noir “Nightcrawler”, the film wasn’t exactly a success. “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” currently has a 55% on Rotten Tomatoes and made just $12.9 million on a $22 million budget. But this box office flop actually provided Washington with his favorite role to date.

This might not be an example of one of Denzel Washington’s best films, but for his portrayal of the titular defense lawyer in “Roman J. Israel, Esq.,” the veteran star received a nomination for the Best Actor award at the 2018 Oscars. Which should tell you that that 55% Rotten Tomatoes score isn’t down to the man himself. Indeed, critics had little to gripe about when it came to Washington’s performance. As Owen Gleiberman wrote in his Variety review, the film “leaves us with a character you won’t soon forget, but you wish that the movie were as haunting as he is.” Elsewhere, in his review for Rolling Stone, Peter Travers wrote that “Washington digs so deep under the skin of this complex character that we almost breathe with him. It’s a great, award-caliber performance in a movie that can barely contain it.”

So, while it might be somewhat surprising to hear that the role of Roman J. Israel, Esq. is Denzel’s favorite, it seems that both he and at least the critics agree that it’s one of his best. It likely helped that Dan Gilroy actually wrote the script with the actor in mind, too. As the writer/director told The Inquirer, “I came off ‘Nightcrawler’ and I spent eight months writing this script, and I wasn’t paid to write it. I wrote it for Denzel, though I had never met him before.” Evidently, Washington was impressed during his first meeting with Gilroy, and agreed to star on the spot. According to the director, that enthusiasm was down to the fact that Denzel has “never played a character like this before. So many of his characters are alpha males and very together and strong.” But it turns out Denzel had much more personal reasons to say yes to Gilroy’s pitch.

In his Inquirer interview, Denzel Washington had a lot to say about playing Roman J. Israel, Esq., clearly demonstrating a deep connection with the role. “We all know people like Roman,” he said. “I have a good friend whose son is on the spectrum and works in a law firm, in a capacity similar to Roman […]The thing about Roman is he can read any book with total recall, but he can’t read people. That is really fascinating to play.”

According to Dan Gilroy, Denzel was so dedicated to the role that he designed his own clothes for the movie. However, as The Inquirer noted, those 1970s jackets and glasses seemed to provoke some negative comments from online trolls, who took aim at the actor’s appearance after photos of him on-set emerged. As Washington himself put it, “You’re reading these comments and you’re thinking, ‘Wow, so that’s how it is.’ You get just a glimpse, just a taste of what people like Roman have to live with every day. It was instructive.” 

With that in mind, you get the sense that Washington is protective of his performance as Israel, especially when he goes on to explain that his sister has bipolar disorder and that while he “know[s] that what she has and what Roman has are very different,” he’d been “looking for a long time for something that would allow [him] to go at least in that direction.” But it seems, regardless of his personal connection to the role, Washington also just felt a deep sense of empathy for people like his on-the-spectrum lawyer:

“We overlook people like Roman, It’s easy for them to fall through the cracks of society. And maybe for that reason, I can tell you I love this guy more than any other character I’ve played in my life […] You have to love the guy. He’s trying. He’s just alone.”

As if you needed another reason to love Denzel, then, you can now add a delicate sensitivity to his list of impressive attributes.