KingsOfKings
𝔻𝕣𝕖𝕒𝕞 𝕄𝕖𝕣𝕔𝕙𝕒𝕟𝕥
The Stanley Kubrick movie Denzel Washington rejected
There aren't many actors who'd turn down the opportunity to work with Stanley Kubrick, but Denzel Washington has always been in a class of his own.
Having been one of the most acclaimed and respected actors in the business for over 30 years – not to mention one of its most reliably popular and bankable stars – Denzel Washington has spent a long time in the position of being able to pick and choose his roles.
Of course, that wasn’t the case when he was first making his way in the industry, but even as a younger man, he was confident enough in his own abilities to decline the opportunity to work with a legendary director. There aren’t many performers who’d reject the notion of collaborating with Stanley Kubrick, but Washington was one of the rare few
Medical drama St. Elsewhere marked his first major part on screen and stage, with Washington appearing in 116 episodes over six years between 1982 and 1988 while notching several feature film credits in the meantime. In only his fifth-ever movie, his career was elevated to the next level when Cry Freedom saw him shortlisted for ‘Best Supporting Actor’ at the Academy Awards.
Director Richard Attenborough’s apartheid story was released a matter of months after Kubrick’s war epic Full Metal Jacket, which could have starred Washington had the filmmaker been more willing to allow prospective cast members to read the script before deciding whether or not they wanted to sign on
He was being eyed for the part of Eightball that was eventually played by Dorian Harewood. However, even though he was far from being a cemented A-lister at the time Full Metal Jacket was gearing up to enter production, Washington couldn’t in all good conscience agree to board the production without having any idea of what his character entailed.
As he explained to GQ when reflecting on the high-profile parts he turned down, Washington admitted he had his eyes on both Full Metal Jacket and Platoon. “They were like, ‘Well, Kubrick doesn’t send out his scripts,'” he said. “I was like, ‘Well, then what do you want me to do?'”
Having no clue about what would be required of him turned out to be a dealbreaker for Washington, who ended up missing out on the chance to work with Kubrick due to the director’s hesitance in playing his hand too early. The 2001: A Space Odyssey architect was every bit as secretive as he was meticulous when developing his projects, and seeing as he wasn’t a hugely known quantity at the time, Washington was hardly in a position to issue an ultimatum.
These days, the best and brightest auteurs in the industry would be falling over themselves to send the two-time Oscar-winning icon their scripts as soon as possible in the hopes of having him star. Still, it goes without saying that Kubrick wasn’t one for bending to the demands of his actors.
TBF...I couldn't picture Denzel getting called "monkeys" and other shyt from Animal Lover without getting the beats broken off of him on the set. Dodged bullet that was pretty smart versus Will Smith turning down The Matrix which was dumb as all hell.
, and with a prime Spacey too 
I know it's a different movie but Bad Boys had Martin and Will.
. A lot of people watched it, who wouldn't normally watch a horror movie and ended up being freaked out over their movie going experience. The vibe of it inspired the aesthetic of so many movies and TV shows over the years. The Usual Suspect was a classic Hollywood crime thriller. 30 years later and Se7en has significantly more mindshare over The Usual Suspects, despite the Oscars it won.
