Denzel Washington doesn’t thoughts being ignored by the Academy.
The 70-year-old actor was requested by the New York Occasions how he felt about not receiving an Oscar nomination for his efficiency in “Gladiator 2.”
“I was sitting there smiling, going: Look at you. On the day you didn’t get a nomination for an Oscar, you’re working on Othello on Broadway,” Washington recalled within the interview revealed Saturday.
“Are you kidding me? Awww. Oh, I’m so upset,” he sarcastically added.
Washington continued, “I’m happy for all that did, and I’m happy with what I’m doing. Listen, I’ve been around too long. I’ve got — I don’t wanna say other fish to fry, but there’s a reality at this age. The beginning of wisdom is understanding. I’m getting wiser, working on talking less and learning to understand more — and that’s exciting.”
Washington’s efficiency in Ridley Scott’s sequel starring Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal earned rave opinions from critics, in addition to Greatest Supporting Actor nominations on the 2025 Golden Globes and 2025 Critics Selection Awards.
Nonetheless, Washington was fully shut out by the Oscars this 12 months.
The Academy as an alternative nominated Kieran Culkin (“A Real Pain”), Yura Borisov (“Anora”), Edward Norton (“A Complete Unknown”), Jeremy Robust (“The Apprentice”) and Man Pearce (“The Brutalist”) for Greatest Supporting Actor.
Washington has been an Oscars darling over time, which made his 2025 snub all of the extra shocking.
He beforehand gained Greatest Supporting Actor in 1990 for “Glory” and Greatest Actor in 2002 for “Training Day.”
Washington was additionally nominated for his performances in “Cry Freedom,” “Malcolm X,” “The Hurricane,” “Flight,” “Fences,” “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” and “The Tragedy of Macbeth.”
In November, Washington made headlines for saying he plans to retire after his slew of upcoming performing tasks.
“I don’t know how many more films I’m going to make. Probably not that many,” he mentioned throughout an interview with Australia’s At the moment. “I want to do things I haven’t done. I’ve played Othello at 22, I’m about to play Othello at 70. After that I’m playing Hannibal. After that I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that Ryan Coogler’s writing a part for me in the next ‘Black Panther.’”
“After that I’m going to do the film ‘Othello.’ After that I’m going to do ‘King Lear.’ After that I’m going to retire,” he added.
However Washington later clarified his retirement feedback in an interview with BuzzFeed.
“I didn’t say I was going to go into retirement. I said that it has to be a level of interest for me,” he defined.
“I’m more interested in getting behind the camera, so that’s about five years out,” the “Unstoppable” star added. “It’s very difficult. I may have used the word ‘retire’… but I look at life in three sections – you learn, you earn and you return. I’m in the return part of life.”
