Denzel Washington once named his all-time cinematic crush
As one of Hollywood’s foremost leading men and box office draws, Denzel Washington has had his fair share of on-screen love interests over the years, but never the star he named as his cinematic crush.
Of course, in real life, the two-time Academy Award-winning icon only has eyes for one woman, having been married to his wife Pauletta since 1983, with a budding dynasty following after his son John David and daughter Olivia both followed in their parent’s footsteps and got into the acting business.
One of the very few actors who has built a career on deftly toeing the line between acclaimed prestige dramas and gun-toting action thrillers, Washington is that exceedingly rare combination of esteemed thespian and bankable movie star, which is just one of the many reasons why he’s secured legendary status.
There may have been plenty of romantic partners on set over the years, but when it comes to his professional crush, Washington opted for a fellow titan of the industry whom he shared the screen with during 2004’s The Manchurian Candidate, although they were on opposite sides as the protagonist and antagonist.
When asked by W Magazine if he had a crush on Meryl Streep, Washington admitted that he did, but not in a typical way. “Well, I have a crush on her ability; it’s not physical,” he said. “Well, it is physical, but it’s not a sexual crush or whatever, I have a tremendous love for her ability”.
Actor, poet, playwright, writer, journalist, civil rights activist, Grammy winner, Emmy winner, and Academy Award nominee Ruby Dee was floated as another potential candidate to take Washington’s top spot as his premiere cinematic crush, but he refused to conflate the impact she had on him as a young fan of her work with any sort of tangible romantic affection.
“Well, I was like 12, Ruby was, you know, a little old for me,” he suggested. “Maybe a little Oedipus thing going,” he joked to indicate that the assumption wasn’t entirely without merit. However, Washington would come clean when one of his peers whom he made Oscars history alongside was brought up.
“Who doesn’t have a crush on Halle Berry? She’s a beautiful woman,” The Equalizer star conceded, even if they’ve never co-starred together in the same production. In 2002, they both blazed a trail at the most prestigious ceremony on the calendar by scooping the top two acting trophies, with Washington’s turn in Training Day and Berry’s tour-de-force in Monster’s Ball winning ‘Best Actor’ and ‘Best Actress’ respectively.
That created a professional connection between them that can’t be broken given its significance, although Washington, as of yet, hasn’t had the opportunity to collaborate with Berry, who was revealed to be his number one cinema crush.
