Spike Lee recently seemed to hint that Denzel Washington could be “done” with directing, but an insider has clarified to The Daily Beast that Lee might’ve just been referring to a specific kind of project.
During a recent “directors on directors” interview for Variety, Bradley Cooper complimented Washington’s 2016 adaptation of August Wilson’s Fences—which prompted a surprising revelation from Lee.
“He said he’s done now,” Lee said.
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“He’s done doing that?” Cooper asked, to which Lee replied, “Directing.”
“How do you even know that?” Cooper asked, but Lee wouldn’t spill. Instead, he made a coy face and gazed into the distance.
A representative for Lee declined to comment. Meanwhile, a source with knowledge of the situation told The Daily Beast that while Washington does not plan to direct any of the future August Wilson projects he is producing after Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, he does intend to continue directing other films in the future.
Washington made his debut behind the camera in 2002 with the thriller Antwone Fisher. In 2007, he followed up with The Great Debaters, and in 2016 came his Fences adaptation—which garnered multiple Academy Award nominations and scored Viola Davis her first Oscars win for best supporting actress. (Washington and Davis had previously headlined a 2010 Broadway revival of the play, and both returned to star in Washington’s film.)
Grey’s Anatomy fans might recall that in 2016, Washington also directed the Season 12 episode “The Sound of Silence,” in which Meredith Grey’s life hangs in the balance after a patient attacks her. His most recent directorial release was 2021’s A Journal for Jordan.
That year, Washington told PBS that he’d made it a point to absorb artistic insights from some of the greats. “I spent a great day with Paul Thomas Anderson a month or so ago, to listen to how he works,” he said. “And Steve McQueen—I’ve been talking with a little bit. I’m learning how to do it, so I’m interested in learning from the best.”
A year later, Washington revealed to W magazine that early on in his career, he’d “never thought” about directing. After trying his hand at it, however, he came to love it more than acting.
“The challenge is greater,” Washington told the magazine. “... I love collaborating with other talented people. You do that as an actor, but just sort of working on your part. You come out of your trailer, do your part, and then you go back inside. But directing a film, [you’re working with] all departments, talking to everybody. I love it.”
