The Oscar Denzel Washington was desperate to lose: “I would have felt badly”
The Academy Awards ceremony is the centrepiece of every year in Hollywood, with many actors campaigning for months to land one of those prestigious little gold men. In truth, though, the Oscars have always engendered many different reactions from actors. For some, it would be the pinnacle of their careers to win one, but to others, even attending the ceremony is a pain in the ass. Denzel Washington, for example, has always had a slightly removed view of the Oscars – and once admitted to hoping he would lose on the night he was nominated for the third time.
Washington’s history with the Oscars goes back to 1988 when he received his first nomination for Cry Freedom. He lost out on ‘Best Supporting Actor’ to Sean Connery in The Untouchables that evening. However, two years later, he was vying for the same trophy thanks to his performance in Glory, and this time, he was victorious. In 1993, he received his third nomination – this time for ‘Best Actor’ – for his incredible lead performance in Malcolm X but lost to Al Pacino for Scent of a Woman. In 2000, The Hurricane brought his fourth nomination, but Kevin Spacey’s American Beauty performance beat him to the punch.
By the time Washington gave a fascinating interview to Playboy in 2002, he was a five-time nominee and two-time winner thanks to his scintillating turn as crooked cop Alonzo Harris in Training Day. He was asked if the politics of Oscar nominating ever aggravated him, such as when his Philadelphia co-lead Tom Hanks was put forward for ‘Best Actor’, but he wasn’t. Washington was sanguine about it, admitting that it might have rankled him slightly, but he didn’t let it consume him. Instead, he revealed that he believed it made perfect sense because Hanks needed the nomination more at that time.
“I didn’t get nominated, but I’d been nominated three times and won already,” Washington mused. “Tom was known for comedy at the time, and he’d just done A League of Their Own. Philadelphia was one of his first serious roles.”
He added, “The movie was about Tom’s character, and they wanted to get behind him.”
When the interviewer asked if Washington truly wasn’t angry about being denied the chance to win another Oscar, he countered, “The opposite is true. There have been times when I didn’t want to win.”
The legendary star then recounted the situation surrounding his third nomination for Malcolm X. Even though he believed his performance warranted the win, he also knew that he was up against Pacino in the ‘Best Actor’ category. His performance as blind, depressed Army colonel Frank Slade had notched the iconic Godfather star his eighth nomination, but Washington was aware he’d never won any of his previous seven. Therefore, he found himself hoping that his name wouldn’t be called for Malcolm X because he wanted Pacino to finally have his moment in the sun.
“I didn’t want to win that time,” Washington claimed. “I would have felt badly. It was Pacino’s time. If he hadn’t won that one, he would have been zero for eight. I was already one for two or something. When he won, I was one for three, batting .333. I was OK with that.”
Interestingly, Washington insists that losing at the Oscars isn’t a big deal because he’s simply happy to be there. “I know it’s a cliché, but I genuinely feel good about being invited to the party,” he said. “How many other people can say they’ve been nominated five times? How many other people can say they have won two Academy Awards? So, I’m cool with it.”
In the years since this interview, Washington has racked up another four Oscar nominations but still only has two wins. In his own vernacular, he’s now two for nine – and is probably perfectly happy with that ratio.
