The 25 most memorable Denzel Washington performances

Washington rose to fame on the medical show “St. Elsewhere,” and was still on the show when he got one of his first big starting roles in “Cry Freedom.” In the film, he played anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who met tragic ends in South Africa. While Biko is not as famous as, say, Nelson Mandela, he was an important figure, and Washington lent his emerging gravitas to the role.

Here is where Washington broke out as a film actor. Denzel had only been in six movies when he co-starred in the Civil War drama, but he certainly made an impact. Washington won his first Oscar, this one for Best Supporting Actor.

“Mo’ Better Blues” is a pretty wild movie, even for a Spike Lee joint. There’s music. There’s comedy. There’s drama. There’s also the dynamic duo of Washington and Wesley Snipes. The colors pop, the music is dynamic, and Washington is a standout in the cast.

Speaking of Spike Lee, “Malcolm X” is just a smidge more serious than “Mo’ Better Blues.” Washington got to do the whole prestige biopic thing by playing the iconic, polarizing activist Malcolm X. It was his iconic role for many years, but not one he won an Oscar for, even though many thought he should have.

Here’s something you might not have known about Washington: The dude likes himself some Shakespeare! He’s actually playing Macbeth in a movie coming out soon, perhaps in 2021. On top of that, he’s played Richard III and Marcus Brutus on stage. Back in 1992, though, he played Don Pedro of Aragon in this adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy.

“Philadelphia” just screams Oscar bait. After all, Tom Banks plays a gay lawyer who contracts AIDs. And it worked because Hanks won Best Actor and the movie also got a Best Original Song win as well. Washington has a tricky role to pull off, as he’s effectively the villain of the piece, but you need a strong actor in a role like that. Needless to say, Washington pulled it off.

So far, this has been a list of serious, high-minded films and prestige pics. If you know Washington’s filmography, you’re probably wondering where the slick action movies are. “Crimson Tide” isn’t quite there yet, but it is more of a crowdpleaser and action movie than anything so far. After all, it takes place on a submarine and isn’t “Das Boot.”

There have been several Easy Rawlins novels written, and there is always room for an adaptation of a private eye mystery series. Washington got the chance to bring Rawlins to the screen in “Devil in a Blue Dress.” It could have started a series and given Washington an iconic role, but it didn’t quite pan out. That’s not Washington’s fault, though, as this role is definitely memorable.

Now here’s some of that slick cheese that Washington dishes out from time to time. Hey, a lot of people love this kind of movie, and Washington is one of the kings of the genre. However, “Virtuosity” is even too silly for Washington to salvage. This isn’t just a virtual reality movie made in 1995, but it’s about a virtual reality serial killer (naturally an amalgamation of the most-violent serial killers to ever live) getting out into the real world. It’s a total misfire, but a famed one. Not all memorable performances come in good movies.

Here’s a weird quirk: In the years 1995 and 1996 Washington made five movies total, and in three of them he plays some sort of lieutenant. That includes “Courage Under Fire,” a solid, middle-of-the-road crowd-pleaser of a war film. It’s also a bit of a mystery film, as Washington’s character is charged with determining if Meg Ryan’s character should be awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor, but he’s having trouble getting down to the truth of what really happened in the events surrounding her death.

Have you see “The Bishop’s Wife?” It’s a solid ‘40s Christmas movie starring Cary Grant. “The Preacher’s Wife” is a remake of that film, but this time it’s Washington in Grant’s role. Being able to perform with the charm of Grant is tough, but Washington pulls it off. Also worth noting is the fact that the titular character is played by Whitney Houston. Largely because of this, the soundtrack to “The Preacher’s Wife” is considered the highest-selling gospel album of all-time.

It would seem that Lee and Washington like working together. In this basketball drama, Washington plays a man in prison who is given a chance to reduce his sentence if he can convince his son to go to a certain school for college. His son, Jesus Shuttlesworth, is the top basketball recruit in the nation. They got an actual basketball player, Ray Allen, to play Jesus, and while his acting is better than you might expect, a lot of the heavy lifting falls on Washington’s shoulders.

A lot of people had not heard of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, prior to the biopic “The Hurricane.” Being played by Denzel Washington is a good way to boost your profile. There’s also a Bob Dylan song about him. While the actual Carter is a more-controversial figure than the movie wants to acknowledge, the focus here is on the fact Carter was convicted of a murder he was eventually exonerated of committing, and everything that entailed.

For a certain generation, “Remember the Titans” is a quintessential sports film. That means it’s a little silly and saccharine, but there’s plenty of feel-good moments as well. Washington plays the coach of a high school football team dealing with racial divisions. Do they overcome them to find success? Well, we did say it was a sports movie.

This is the one. Washington didn’t just win the Best Actor Oscar for “Training Day.” He gave one of the indelible performances of the new millennium. Washington goes all out as crooked cop Alonzo Harris, giving memorable speeches and terrorizing Ethan Hawke. It’s likely going to be the first role people associate with Washington from here on out.

It is probably fair to say that part of what makes “John Q.” so memorable is the fact that it came in the wake of “Training Day.” All eyes were on Washington at this time. “John Q.” is not a great movie, and it’s a little heavy-handed, but Washington is the star of the show, and he gets to emote and give big speeches. We still remember him declaring, “My son is going to live” in the trailer. Clearly, he left a mark.

If we were doing memorable roles for Frank Sinatra, his turn as Major Ben Marco in “The Manchurian Candidate” would make the list. That’s also true for Washington, who plays that role in the remake. “The Manchurian Candidate” remake wasn’t as impactful culturally, but it was a take on a famous movie, and having Washington as the star helped make it memorable.

For a Spike Lee movie, “Inside Man” is an unusual choice. It’s a genre picture and pretty much just a heist procedural. However, for many, this is one of the best of that genre. Clive Owen makes a major impact in his role, but Washington goes toe-to-toe with him as the police officer trying to take him and his crew down.

From a movie where Washington is on the side of the law, we go to a movie where Washington is the one committing the crimes. “American Gangster” is based on the life of gangster and drug dealer Frank Lucas, who is played by Washington. The Ridley Scott film is pretty slick, and Washington is able to get you to spend your time watching a movie about a drug lord, even if he doesn’t go nuts like Al Pacino as Tony Montana.

“The Book of Eli” is a pretty wild film, and it’s more memorable than good. Watching Denzel carrying around a sacred book in a post-apocalyptic wasteland is not something we ever expected to see. If it hadn’t been Washington, we probably would have mostly forgotten “The Book of Eli.” Instead, it’s still a memorable film.

In terms of action thrillers, ”Unstoppable” delivers more than many of those movies. The idea of a runaway train being the entire premise of a film could easily turn out poorly. It could just be a bunch of loud nonsense. Instead, Tony Scott’s film really hit with people, probably in part because of the cast. That includes the duo of Washington and Chris Pine, who are the ostensible stars in this ensemble piece.

For the last 15 years or so, Washington has churned out the occasional “B” movie action film where he gets to shoot a gun and be a tough guy. They are all hit-or-miss and usually are the quintessential two-and-a-half-star movies. Among those, “Safe House” is probably the best, or at the very least the most memorable.

“Safe House” may have been a low-expectations action flick, but that same year he made “Flight” which was a serious Oscar play. Granted, it involves a plane being flown upside down, but it also features Washington as a pilot dealing with alcoholism. The movie didn’t make the Oscar impact that was expected, but Washington did get a nomination for Best Actor.

“The Equalizer” is based on a largely forgotten action show from the ‘80s, but Washington decided to bring it back as a starring vehicle that he also produced. Again, this is mostly an excuse for Denzel to be an actor star. The first movie was successful enough to yield a sequel, but so far there hasn’t been another “Equalizer.”

Did you know that Denzel also directs? It’s true, and that includes directing “Fences.” Washington is a big fan of the plays of August Wilson. He produced 2020’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” and “Fences” is also a Wilson play adaptation. Washington also costars in “Fences,” though it’s Viola Davis that won an Oscar for the movie.

Washington is older than your traditional Macbeth, but Joel Coen's "The Tragedy of Macbeth" makes use of that. His version of Shakespeare's classic tragedy is about an older couple looking to secure a legacy. Washington's turn was quite appreciated and earned him yet another Oscar nomination for Best Actor.