The eerie coincidence that led Denzel Washington to his only horror movie: “It was kind of odd”
While some actors will happily take on any genre that comes their way, there are certain stars who much prefer to stick to a select few. It doesn’t necessarily make an actor less versatile if they refuse to be in something like a romantic comedy or an action movie, everyone has their own preferences.
And for Denzel Washington, his preference falls closer to the side of action, crime, and historical dramas, from Glory and The Equalizer to Training Day and Gladiator II. He’s just not the kind of star you should expect to see in a light-hearted comedy or a horror movie, because he’s clearly not that interested.
Well, there is one exception to his seeming lack of interest in horror – the 1998 film Fallen, which marks one of the only scary movies in his repertoire. Directed by Gregory Hoblit, the movie had a rather stacked cast, which included Donald Sutherland, John Goodman, and James Gandolfini, although its reviews weren’t as positive as Washington was likely hoping.
Horror isn’t for everyone, and it seems like Washington probably isn’t much of a dedicated fan of the genre, considering that he has never returned to the realm of scary movies since. Still, he gave it a crack, inspired by the fact that the previous film he’d been in saw him play an angel, while Fallen saw his character pursue a demon. He felt like there was some sort of alignment here; perhaps it would help him understand the dichotomy between good and evil more plainly.
When it came down to it, the story was captivating enough for Washington to enter a whole new genre, so he couldn’t see the harm in giving it a go. “I’m attracted to interesting stories, and the good-versus-evil themes of Fallen interested me a great deal. I play this cop who is fighting a demon that can inhabit any person and can pass between people by touch. It was kind of odd, because my last film was The Preacher’s Wife, in which I played an angel, and here I am chasing a fallen angel,” he told The Standard.
Invested in the innately religious and moral themes of Fallen, Washington got stuck in, continuing, “I grew up with an understanding of good and evil, because my dad was a preacher. I was taught that the Devil isn’t something that has power over you, but something you have power over. I believe the Devil has a destructive influence, but can’t actually destroy you.”
“It’s like the passage in the Bible about ‘the valley of the shadow of death’, not ‘the valley of death’ – evil casts a long shadow. I feel that there’s a Yin and a Yang thing – where you really want to do what’s right,” he added.
Fallen only made $25.2million against its budget of $46m, which may have had a hand to play in Washington’s decision not to return to horror ever again. That’s not to say that Washington is only in it for the money, of course, but with his first foray into the genre hardly working in his favour, it’s no surprise he has never returned to it.
