Denzel Washington Sits Down with Tom Power of CBC to Talk Macbeth
Click to viewDenzel Washington says he never read Macbeth in school and before this project had never really thought about playing the part.
He goes on to say that theatre is "an actor's medium" whereas film is "a director's medium" and spends some time talking about the differences between performing on stage and performing in a film.
He says working with Joel Coen and Frances McDormand was challenging and exciting and invigorating.
"I walked in to Joel Coen's office one day, and he didn't realize I had walked in. He was on his computer. And I walked up to him, and I was standing over him, and he didn't even realize it. He was so concentrated on what he was doing. I said, 'Joel,' and he's like, 'what?' I said, 'I've been standing here for like 2 minutes, you didn't even realize.' That level of concentration, I'm like, if he's into it that much then I gotta make sure I'm ready and I'm going to be into it just like that."
He goes on to call both Joel Coen and Frances McDormand geniuses.
Denzel says McDormand is a unique individual and powerful, strong, and talented and that her energy coming into the room lifts his energy up immediately.
He says the challenge with a role like this is not knowing if you can handle it - but that is also the thrill of it.
He spends some time talking about Sidney Poitier (11:50) and how Denzel was doing a play in his 20s called "The Soldier's Play" and Sidney Poitier came to see the play and complimented him. OP Note: This section of the interview is interesting, he also speaks about advice Sidney Poitier gave him. If you can't watch the whole thing, definitely skip to 11:50 and watch from there.
They also discuss the accent choices in the film and how the dialogue sounds in the film, the pandemic's affect on the industry, and more.
Denzel looks good!
Source: q on CBC