Denzel Washington Often Didn’t Rewatch His Films Other Than This 1 Exception

Denzel Washington once explained why he refuses to look back and rewatch his past movies.

Actor Denzel Washington seldom rewatched his own critically acclaimed dramas and high-grossing blockbusters. But he made an exception for one of his features in large part because of his son.

The 1 film Denzel Washington rewatched

Washington is known for his great body of film work. And if he was to look back on his filmography, he’d have every reason to be proud of his contributions to cinema. Many of his films have drawn hundreds of millions of dollars and enjoyed numerous praise and accolades. But he’s always asserted that he never rewatches his past work. When RSNG once asked Washington what his favorite movie was, he simply responded it was always the next movie he hadn’t done yet.

“That is my answer to that,” Washington said. “I’m interested in the choosing, I’m interested in finding the character, I’m interested in the process. I’m interested in my next one. Never look back. I don’t watch my old movies – I just keep looking forward to the next challenge.”

Although there was one exception he made a long time ago for the sake of his son. It turned out that John David Washington was a huge fan of the 1989 film Glory, which his father won an Oscar for. When Glory came on one night, Washington watched it with John David, who was hooked on the project.

“Glory, I did, because my son John David watched and watched and rewatched it. Hours. Not a little kid but young enough and he had me get him the uniform, all that. He knows every line by heart, he can recite the entire story,” Washington said.

Denzel Washington doesn’t consider himself a film buff

Washington seemingly doesn’t have a favorite movie. Although a student of film, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, he shared that he doesn’t really consider himself a film buff. Especially when compared to other members of his family who might be.

“I’m not a film buff. I think the reason my children have gotten in the business — two of my kids are actors and one is a producer and one is a director, in fact an AFI graduate — even more than that their dad is an actor, is that my wife is a film fanatic,” Washington said.

But there was a point where Washington grew a passion for filmmaking. And because of this, he found himself watching more film than he normally would to better inform the movies he’d make.

“I like film, and I watch more film leading up to when I’m directing than any other time, because I’m studying. I’m directing the movie Journal for Jordan next year and it’s a love story, so I just started looking at different movies like Brief Encounter, Coming Home. I’ll end up watching a lot, but for a reason,” he said.

What is John David’s favorite Denzel Washington film now?

As he’s gotten older, it seems that John David has been exposed to more of his father’s work. And being a working actor himself, his observation of his father’s craft may have affected John David’s preferences as well. Nowadays John David considers Washington’s work in Malcolm X as his favorite performance from his father. The Tenet star ranked it up there with his other favorites like Robert De Niro in Raging Bull and Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight.

“It is almost impossible to play someone who is so well-known and memorable. I have never seen anyone embody the spirit of someone who lived the way Denzel did,” John David once told A. Frame.