Denzel Washington has so many unforgettable performances on his resume, it’s nearly impossible to narrow down his best roles to a top two or three. One character that most fans agree should be near the top of the list is Rubin Carter in “The Hurricane.” The 1999 drama tells the true story of Carter, a boxer who was wrongly convicted of triple murder and spent nearly 20 years in prison.
Oscar-Winning ‘American Fiction’ Writer Cord Jefferson On The Challenge of Getting His Movie Made
Following its release, Washington’s performance was widely praised and he was once again considered an awards favorite. He won the Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama, which made him the frontrunner at the 2000 Oscars.
Unfortunately, the Academy gave the Best Actor award to Kevin Spacey for “American Beauty.” Considering that the category included Russell Crowe for “The Insider,” Richard Farnsworth for “The Straight Story” and Sean Penn for “Sweet and Lowdown,” they really did go with the worst pick. The “Gladiator II” star remembers that he suddenly felt like he became the center of attention.
“At the Oscars, they called Kevin Spacey’s name for ‘American Beauty,’” he told Esquire. “I have a memory of turning around and looking at him, and nobody was standing but the people around him. And everyone else was looking at me. Not that it was this way. Maybe that’s the way I perceived it. Maybe I felt like everybody was looking at me. Because why would everybody be looking at me? Thinking about it now, I don’t think they were.”
Washington admits that he didn’t handle the moment well, consoling himself with alcohol. He also hints that there were whispers about Spacey’s alleged sexual misconduct. In recent years, the “House of Cards” star has been the subject of multiple sexual assault allegations and was found not guilty of nine counts of sexual assault in the United Kingdom.
“I’m sure I went home and drank that night. I had to. I don’t want to sound like, ‘Oh, he won my Oscar,’ or anything like that. It wasn’t like that,” he said. “And you know, there was talk in the town about what was going on over there on that side of the street, and that’s between him and God. I ain’t got nothing to do with that. I pray for him. That’s between him and his maker.”
The loss made him bitter to the point where he pretty much hated the Oscars. He wouldn’t even join his wife, Pauletta Washington, in voting for the awards.
“I went through a time then when Pauletta would watch all the Oscar movies — I told her, I don’t care about that. Hey: ‘They don’t care about me? I don’t care,’” he said. “You vote. You watch them. I ain’t watching that. I gave up. I got bitter. My pity party. So I’ll tell you, for about fifteen years, from 1999 to 2014 when I put the beverage down, I was bitter.”
If you’re doing the math, this includes his 2002 Best Actor win for “Training Day” and 2013 nomination for “Flight.” Washington has received nine acting nominations at the Academy Awards and has won twice, one for Best Supporting Actor in “Glory” and his “Training Day” win.
If it were up to us, we’d nominate Washington every time he appeared on screen, because he’s that good every single time. While we’re glad he’s left the bitterness behind, he had every right to feel some type of way about losing to Spacey in “American Beauty,” which in retrospect, is wrong on a lot of levels.
And just in case you’re wondering, he is receiving awards buzz for his performance in “Gladiator II,” which storms into theaters Nov. 22.
