10 MINUTES AGO: At 69, Denzel Washington confirmed a heartbreaking rumor that left us heartbrokenโฆ Full story:
Denzel Washington is unstoppable when it comes to this big decision.
The 69-year-old revealed he plans to retire from Hollywood after the slew of acting projects he has in the works.
โI donโt know how many more films Iโm going to make. Probably not that many,โ Washington said during an interview with Australiaโs Today on Monday. โI want to do things I havenโt done. Iโve played Othello at 22, Iโm about to play Othello at 70. After that Iโm playing Hannibal. After that Iโve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that Ryan Cooglerโs writing a part for me in the next โBlack Panther.โโ
He added, โAfter that Iโm going to do the film โOthello.โ After that Iโm going to do โKing Lear.โ After that Iโm going to retire.โ
Washington got his start in the 1977 made-for-television film โWilma,โ followed by the 1981 film โCarbon Copy.โ
Meanwhile, โBlack Pantherโ became one of the MCUโs signature franchises, with the 2018 film starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyongโo and Michael B. Jordan earning more than $1.3 billion at the box office.
Denzel Washington and Todd Black speak onstage during Netflixโs special presentation of โThe Piano Lessonโ during the Toronto International Film Festival at Princess of Wales Theatre on September 10, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario.
Boseman died at age 43 in 2020 from colon cancer.
The 2022 sequel, โBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever,โ was a tribute to the late actor and continued the story of Wakanda and its people.
These days Washington is focused on promoting โGladiator II,โ the sequel to Ridley Scottโs 2000 action movie.
Denzel Washington attends the โGladiator IIโ Paris Special Screening at Pathe Palace on November 10, 2024, in Paris, France.
โGladiator IIโ is set over two decades after the events of the original โGladiatorโ film, which starred Russell Crowe. In the sequel, Paul Mescal plays the grown-up Lucius Verus II, the son of Croweโs character, Maximus, who ends up forced into slavery and becomes a gladiator to earn his freedom, much like his dad did in the first movie.
Washington portrays former slave and Luciusโ mentor, Macrinus. The actor teased his possible retirement in August.
โThere are very few films left for me to make that Iโm interested in,โ Washington told Empire magazine. โI have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley.โ
โBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever.โ
The pair previously worked together on the 2007 film, โAmerican Gangster.โ
โWe had a great go-round the first go-round [on โAmerican Gangsterโ], and here we are,โ continued Washington. โHeโs engaged. Heโs excited about life and his next film. Heโs an inspiration.โ
โWe should all want to feel like that at 86,โ the star added.
But during an appearance last month on the UKโs โGraham Norton Show,โ Mescal, 28, took a moment to gush over meeting the Oscar winner on set.
โIt was a big day in my life โ it was amazing. I spent the first day thinking, โI must go introduce myself to him,โ and I stood there for several minutes before I [decided], โNot today,โโ the actor reminisced. โThe next day I decided to be a brave boy.โ