Last year, Denzel Washington did a surprising amount of promotion for Gladiator II. “Surprising” in the sense that Denzel is a living legend and he really doesn’t “need” to hustle at this stage of his career. From the early buzz for that film, I thought it felt like Denzel might be the centerpiece of an Oscar campaign. Then I saw it and… yeah, I understand why the awards-season buzz fizzled out. Still, I enjoyed the movie and Denzel is absolutely the best part of it. His character was rich and power-hungry, and he spent the entire movie scheming. While Denzel was nominated for a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award, he was snubbed for an Oscar nomination. Yes, I say “snubbed” – lesser actors have been nominated for lesser performances, and as I said, Denzel was fantastic in Gladiator II.

Anyway, during that promotion, Denzel shrugged off the importance of awards, and he spoke in great detail (in his Esquire interview) about how he used to care more about awards but he stopped after he lost to Kevin Spacey (back in 2000). So, as Denzel is promoting Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest, he was once again asked about the Oscars.

Denzel Washington has nine Academy Award nominations under his belt and two Oscar wins (best supporting actor for “Glory” and best actor for “Training Day”), but he places no value on such career milestones. Speaking to “Jake’s Takes” on his “Highest 2 Lowest” press tour, Washington said no acting decision he makes in his career has to do with winning awards.

“I don’t do it for Oscars. I don’t care about that kind of stuff,” Washington said. “I’ve been at this a long time, and there’s time when I won and shouldn’t have won and then didn’t win and should’ve won. Man gives the award. God gives the reward….I’m not that interested in Oscars. People ask me, ‘Where do I keep it?’ Well, next to the other one. I’m not bragging! Just telling you how I feel about it. On my last day, [Oscars] aren’t going to do me a bit of good.”

Not getting caught up in awards has long been Washington’s mantra. His “Training Day” co-star Ethan Hawke appeared on Max’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” last year and remembered how Washington leaned over to him when Hawke lost best supporting actor on Oscar night to tell him, “It’s better that you didn’t win. Losing was better. You don’t want an award to improve your status. You want to improve the award’s status. That’s the way he thinks,” Hawke said about Washington’s advice in the moment. “That’s what I’m talking about playing with Babe Ruth. The Academy Award has more power, because Denzel has a couple. It didn’t elevate who he was.”

[From Variety]

Re: Ethan Hawke, I think Denzel was just being nice and giving his friend a pep talk after Ethan lost. Because Denzel DID put some stock into the Oscars at one point in his life, and of course he knows that those awards matter professionally. My interpretation is that Denzel just got to a point in his life (AND his career) where he stopped caring and stopped putting any energy into it. Like, he’s been in his IDGAF Era for years, just doing the projects he wants to do and working with the people he likes. It reminds me a bit of what Harrison Ford does too – just keeps it moving, keeps working and doesn’t care about all of the noise, positive or negative.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.