The performance that robbed Denzel Washington of an Oscar, according to Spike Lee
No sane person would call Denzel Washington anything other than one of the greatest actors of his time, with few performers from any age commanding as much of a screen presence as he does.
Washington embodies authority and respect, even when he’s playing an utterly deplorable individual, able to do an action movie and then transition straight into Shakespeare, proving there really is nothing he can’t do, and if all of that hasn’t convinced you, then let’s look at the stats.
In total, Washington has been nominated for an Oscar nine times across his career, and he has been victorious twice, which isn’t bad odds at all. His first win was for 1989’s historical drama Glory, in which he played a soldier serving in the American Civil War, and 12 years later, he scooped the coveted ‘Best Actor’ prize for his role in Training Day, becoming the first Black man to take home the gold since Sidney Poitier for Lillies of the Field. However, according to one of his closest collaborators, he could have added one more little gold man to his collection.
Speaking to Variety, Spike Lee went into hype-man mode for his old pal Denzel. The film he really wanted to talk about was Malcolm X, for which Washington received his first ‘Best Actor’ nomination, playing the eponymous civil rights icon, but ended up losing out to another legend of the screen.
“No disrespect to my brother Al Pacino, I love him. But Denzel, in my opinion, should have won,” the director claimed, adding, “With these awards, it’s like basketball, where the ref blows a call, and you have to make a call. So they make a call. I think it was Training Day, which he won an Oscar for. But we don’t do our work for awards, which are nice, but it’s the work that is going to stand above all awards.”
The movie for which Pacino was honoured was Scent of a Woman, where the New York native went above and beyond to portray Frank Slade, a cantankerous, blind Vietnam War veteran who forms a bond with a young student played by Chris O’Donnell. At the 1993 Oscars ceremony, he was given his flowers, beating out Robert Downey Jr, Stephen Rea, Clint Eastwood, and our friend Mr Washington.
Lee was probably insinuating that his buddy deserved to win because of his own talent, which is a very good point, but it’s worth pointing out that Pacino’s win is seen as one of the most controversial in Oscars history.
Many commentators see it as something of a pity victory, as despite starring in some of the most acclaimed films ever made, Pacino had never won an Oscar, and thus, in attempting to make up for past mistakes, the Academy ended up rewarding him for one of his worst-nominated performances.
The funniest thing about all of this is that Washington himself wanted Pacino to win as he too thought it was about time that the great man was finally given his dues, and the nice guy that he is, was reportedly very pleased that his rival’s name was read out instead of his.
