Once you’ve conquered Hollywood by becoming one of the most respected and celebrated actors in the industry, what else is there to do but become a celebrated director, too? That’s exactly what Denzel Washington did. Having received his first Oscar nomination for playing South African activist Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough’s 1987 effort “Cry Freedom”, Denzel then went on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in what Rotten Tomatoes maintains is Washington’s best film, 1989’s “Glory.”
While “Glory,” which currently has a 95% RT score, was certainly a high point for Denzel, the man still had decades of hits and critically-acclaimed classics ahead of him. After that 1989 triumph, for example, he went on to earn another Oscar for his role as corrupt LAPD detective Alonzo Harris in 2001’s “Training Day.” But between winning Hollywood’s highest honor twice, Washington was also proving his ability to front massive blockbuster hits while maintaining his reputation as a serious actor capable of delivering nuanced, affecting performances in such fare as “Malcom X,” “Philadelphia,” and “The Hurricane.”
His diverse talent has remained on display throughout the latter part of his career, too. One minute he’s John Wick-ing his way through the delightfully brutal “Equalizer” films, the next he’s earning widespread praise for his performance in Joel Coen’s expressionist nightmare “The Tragedy of Macbeth.” But all of that seemingly wasn’t enough for a man of Denzel’s immense talent. Throughout his career, Washington has also directed four movies, and one of them in particular fared extremely well with critics.
Denzel’s finest directorial effort according to Rotten Tomatoes
After the turn of the century, Denzel Washington began directing films. The actor has helmed 2002’s “Antwone Fisher,” 2007’s “The Great Debaters,” and 2016’s “Fences” — all of which also starred the veteran actor. 2021’s “A Journal for Jordan,” meanwhile, is the only movie that Washington has directed which doesn’t feature him as part of the cast. As if Denzel being the best actor of all time wasn’t enough, three of his four directorial efforts have fared very well critically (“A Journal for Jordan,” with its 39% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is the one exception). But one of these films in particular stands as a testament to the man’s equally formidable filmmaking talents: “Fences.”
This 2016 period drama was an adaptation of August Wilson’s play of the same name, and saw Denzel directing and starring as Troy Maxson, the patriarch of a 1950s working class family who just missed out on living his dream of becoming a professional baseball player. After the Major Leagues began admitting Black players, Maxson was too old to make the cut, and instead took a job as a sanitation worker in Pittsburgh. The film depicts the tensions that arise from Maxson’s barely-concealed resentment over the way his life panned out and how it affects his wife, Rose (Viola Davis), and their teenage son, Cory (Jovan Adepo).
If that sounds like the kind of powerful drama that Denzel would excel at, he absolutely did. Not only did his performance earn rave reviews, but “Fences” as a whole also remains his highest-rated directorial effort on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 92% rating based on 272 reviews. The film additionally earned four Oscar nominations, with Viola Davis winning for Best Supporting Actress.
A Denzel-directed film is always better when he also stars
Considering 2002’s “Antwone Fisher,” Denzel Washington’s first go at directing, currently has a 78% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s not all the surprising that his later efforts would be similarly well-received. 2007’s “The Great Debaters” currently enjoys a robust 80% score on the review aggregator, with “Fences” remaining the best of the bunch with its 92% score and 7.7 out of 10 average rating (a representation of the actual scores, grades, and stars critics gave the movie). But all of these films also featured Denzel in starring roles, suggesting that his on-screen presence is what put them over the top in terms of critical appraisal. 2021’s “A Journal for Jordan,” meanwhile, is the only Denzel-directed film with a “rotten” rating and is the only one of the four movies in which the actor doesn’t appear. Still, at least star Michael B. Jordan seemed to learn a lot from Denzel’s direction.
While it was never Denzel’s plan to pull double duty on “The Great Debaters”, then, it was probably for the best, as the man’s mere presence can seemingly elevate almost any movie in which he appears. That said, Denzel’s two worst movies according to Rotten Tomatoes certainly didn’t benefit too much from his presence, especially in the case of 1990 comedy “Heart Condition,” in which the Oscar winner played the ghost of a lawyer who guides Bob Hoskins’ police detective through a case from beyond the grave.
Meanwhile, it seems Washington may well be done with directing, if his buddy Spike Lee is to be believed. Lee told Bradley Cooper during a “Directors on Directors” conversation (via The Playlist), Washington “says he’s done,” before confirming he was talking about directing, specifically. If the veteran star does return to the director’s chair, however, he should probably consider starring in whatever film it is he ends up making, too.
