The 1988 role Denzel Washington wanted to play forever: “They’re going to have to kick me out”
When Denzel Washington started his career, there were movie actors, and there were TV actors. He was always destined to be the former, but he had to bide his time as the latter before making the jump.
It wasn’t until the ‘Golden Age’ of episodic storytelling kicked in at around the turn of the millennium that the goalposts were finally moved. Previously, young actors used television as a stepping stone to cinema, and those who went the other way were usually veterans or faded stars who’d fallen out of relevance.
Even though he still doesn’t consider himself a film actor, despite being a two-time Academy Award winner and one of modern Hollywood’s definitive stars and bankable box office draws, with Washington instead insisting that he’s a stage thespian who does the odd feature, the evidence suggests otherwise.
In his early days, though, he faced a crucial decision. He’d been offered plenty of small-screen gigs, but they were mostly sitcoms, and on the advice of his agent, he was pushed toward something more dramatic. That led him to the medical show St Elsewhere, where he stayed for over 100 episodes.
Playing Dr Philip Chandler, Washington was a main cast member for all six episodes, with the series premiering in October 1982 and ending in May 1988. One of the added benefits was that, during his downtime, the aspiring A-lister could make movies before returning to steady work, but for a while, it sounded like he didn’t want to give it up.
During his St Elsewhere Days, Washington appeared in four pictures: A Soldier’s Story, Power, For Queen and Country, and Cry Freedom, the latter earning him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for ‘Best Supporting Actor’. Technically, he was still a TV guy, but Hollywood’s eyes had been opened to his talents.
“My philosophy is I’m kind of a cupmaker,” he explained midway through his six-season run. “My interest is in making the best cup. Once I’ve made the cup, and from the mail I get, I guess I’m making a pretty good cup, I put my energies into making the next cup, and not in worrying about what people think about it.”
It was a strange analogy, but you get the point: he was doing the best work he could with whatever material he was given, and then it was onto the next one. That said, he still wasn’t ready to give up his day job. “The television series has been very good to me,” Washington added. “I do want to expand creatively, but they’re going to have to kick me out.”
Things didn’t come to that, with the star neither quitting nor being kicked out of St Elsewhere. The series reached its natural conclusion when the 137th and final episode aired, and free from his contractual obligations, Washington zeroed in on big-screen superstardom, which was lurking just around the corner.
