About This Quiz
Denzel Washington has been in the acting game since 1975. After graduating from the American Conservatory Theatre in California with a graduate degree in acting, the young man got his first big break when he was cast on the TV drama, "St. Elsewhere." He was present for all six years that the series ran and this role launched his career. Since then, Washington has won a variety of awards for his acting credits, including the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama. As of 2019, Denzel Washington has been in at least 52 motion pictures.ÂÂ
With such an impressive and extensive filmography, one might think it would be easy to name all of the iconic films that he's been in. Do you know which thrilling movie he starred alongside Julia Roberts in? Perhaps athletic movies are more your speed. Can you name the popular Disney sports biopic that Washington played the lead in? Denzel Washington has taken on many roles, far more than could be included in this quiz. Can you name all of the movies featured? Or will you become a Flight risk?ÂÂ
Out of all the roles he's played, Denzel Washington has said on more than one occasion that playing Detective Alonzo Harris is his favorite. He even took on the look of the police officer that Harris was based on.
One marketing campaign for the film came in the form of Spike Lee telling kids to skip school to see his film. He believed that the movie would provide just as much education as their school day would.
In order to encourage people that were unfamiliar with AIDS to see the movie, the director enlisted the help of Bruce Springsteen. By incorporating his song into the film, people who wouldn't normally see the movie went just because of Springsteen's role in things.
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The production of this movie called for filming 360 scenes in over 150 locations. While filming in Chiang Mai, some of the extras were participants in the real-life drug operation of Frank Lucas.
At one point during the movie, Washington's character is seen getting whipped. While it didn't cut up his back, the actor is legitimately getting lashed in this scene, making the lone tear that runs down his cheek entirely authentic.
Denzel Washington starred alongside Whitney Houston in this film. It's a remake of the holiday classic "The Bishop's Wife." Washington took on the role originally played by Cary Grant.
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During one scene in the film, a brick is thrown through a window at Coach Boone's house. In reality, it was an old toilet that broke his window, but directors thought this would detract from the serious tone of the movie.
In order to be properly prepared for his role, Denzel Washington studied martial arts from Dan Inosanto. Under his tutelage, Washington was able to perform all of his own stunts in the movie's fight sequences.
While the movie shows the Wiley College debate team defeating Harvard College, this is incorrect. In actuality, Wiley College defeated the University of Southern California debate team.
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Even though he was playing an alcoholic on-screen, Washington himself rarely drinks. In fact, during filming, he made a promise to himself to not drink at all, for fear that he would become fascinated with alcohol.
While filming the remake of "Magnificent Seven," Chris Pratt's film, "Jurassic World," was released. Denzel Washington teased Pratt about his success, and would regularly introduce him on set based on the movie's current earnings that morning.
The main character, Cory, was originally supposed to be played by Eddie Murphy. Because Cory is a teenage boy, however, delays in production quickly prevented Murphy from appearing young enough for the role.
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In one particular scene in the film, George W. Bush can be seen on the television discussing healthcare in the United States. Because the election winner wasn't known at the time, this scene was also done with Al Gore footage.
Denzel Washington was cast in the movie because he went to the doctor at the right time. While he was waiting for his appointment, Washington ran into director Tony Scott and the rest is history.
While filming for the movie, there were nude scenes done with Angelina Jolie. However, before finalizing the movie, they were cut from the reel for fear of being too distracting from the story line.
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Even though it wasn't based on a true story, the movie still influenced the New York Transit Authority. For years after the release of the original movie, schedule planners were not allowed to have a train leave Pelham at 1:23.
While Denzel Washington has a large number of film and television credits to his name, "The Equalizer 2" was the first sequel performed by the actor. During filming, members of the crew even called it "The Sequelizer."
There are said to be a few different inspirations for this movie. "2 Guns" was the name of a graphic novel by Steven Grant that the movie is based on. However, there's also speculation that this film may have been inspired by another movie, "Charley Varrick."
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Denzel Washington had to lose 60 pounds in preparation for the role. Even with this weight loss, however, he still weighed 40 pounds more than the actual Rubin Carter during his boxing career.
Whether it was on purpose or not, at one point in the film, Detective Frazier can be heard saying "I'm listening." Frasier Crane, from the sitcom "Frasier," says the very same thing on his radio show.
Based on the novel with the same name, the two main characters are supposed to fall in love. Washington felt that this should stay out of the movie, however, because he thought an interracial relationship would distract from the story.
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Denzel Washington has a tendency to fulfill any stunts within his movie roles. "Safe House" was no exception. While it was only for a few seconds at a time, Washington was waterboarded during his character's torture scene.
Even though he was hired to play the part of a trumpeter, Washington could barely play three notes before filming began. Instead of learning the instrument entirely, he was taught to simply mimic playing the songs in the film.
The role of Jesus Shuttlesworth was originally offered to Kobe Bryant. While the rookie liked the script and the idea of starring in a movie, he had a vigorous workout regime planned that was more important to his future in the NBA.
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Even though the movie was supposed to be based on U.S. Navy submarines, filming with active submarines proved to be problematic. To get some of the scenes, the crew filmed a French submarine instead.
During casting, Paramount Pictures had reached out to Arnold Schwarzenegger about taking on the role of Parker Barnes, but the salary he asked for was far above what the studio was willing to pay.
Hurricane Katrina delayed some of the filming since the story took place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Some pieces of the plot were altered or added to work in the damage of the storm to the story.
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To be in peak physical form, Washington worked out an excessive amount for the four months prior to filming. He devoted three hours of his day for six days a week to his training regimen.
At one point during the movie, audio from the movie "Legally Blonde" can be heard because it's playing on one of the hotel TVs during a fight scene. The audio in question is of the scene where Elle and Warner break up.
Denzel Washington initially didn't want to star in the movie, but stay in the Director's chair. However, he eventually agreed to fill the starring role as a way to get the film financed.
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While promoting the movie, two websites were made. One was explicitly for the movie and its release. The other promoted the fictional Manchurian Global Corporation that's seen in the film.
This movie was originally supposed to have a love scene with Washington and Beals, but it was cut before it was released. The director feared that it took away from the story and wasn't needed in the film.
In order to appear as emaciated as his character, Matt Damon took on extreme measures. In addition to a very restricted diet, the actor also ran twelve miles a day and drank more than four pots of coffee to keep up his energy.
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While the movie focuses on a character who's said to have a $10,000 bill, these bills were taken out of circulation in 1969. Any bill found past that year is considered very rare and worth far more than their face value.
Denzel Washington performed the stunts that required his character to run along the top of the fast-moving train himself. Even though Washington was wired for safety, there was still a significant risk of injury.
"The Siege" was not met with success when it was released in the theaters, since it portrayed Muslim and Arab individuals as terrorists. However, following 9/11 it was one of the most rented movies of the period.
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While the film crew attempted to film the movie in South Africa, the political unrest at the time made this nearly impossible. Instead, much of the movie was filmed in Zimbabwe in order to avoid further complications.
While preparing for the role, Denzel Washington spent time with a pair of detectives. He learned that they would carry an extra pair of shoes in their trunk, in case the ones they were wearing got blood on them.
Beyond Washington's role, there are three familiar faces from the "Harry Potter" universe in this movie. The actors who play Gilderoy Lockhart, Sybil Trelawny and Dolores Umbridge can all be seen in this film.
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The film was very ill-received and never scored a rating over 6/10 on any movie sites that have it listed. It also received 0% on Rotten Tomatoes and was only given two stars by Roger Ebert.