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.
“I don’t know how many more films I’m going to make. Probably not that many,” Washington said during an interview with Australia’s Today on Monday. “I want to do things I haven’t done. I’ve played Othello at 22, I’m about to play Othello at 70. After that I’m playing Hannibal. After that I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that Ryan Coogler’s writing a part for me in the next ‘Black Panther.’”
He added, “After that I’m going to do the film ‘Othello.’ After that I’m going to do ‘King Lear.’ After that I’m going to retire.”
Washington got his start in the 1977 made-for-television film “Wilma,” followed by the 1981 film “Carbon Copy.”
Meanwhile, “Black Panther” became one of the MCU’s signature franchises, with the 2018 film starring Chadwick Boseman, Lupita Nyong’o and Michael B. Jordan earning more than $1.3 billion at the box office.
Boseman died at age 43 in 2020 from colon cancer.
The 2022 sequel, “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” was a tribute to the late actor and continued the story of Wakanda and its people.
These days Washington is focused on promoting “Gladiator II,” the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 2000 action movie.
“Gladiator II” is set over two decades after the events of the original “Gladiator” film, which starred Russell Crowe. In the sequel, Paul Mescal plays the grown-up Lucius Verus II, the son of Crowe’s 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 Lucius’ mentor, Macrinus. The actor teased his possible retirement in August.
“There are very few films left for me to make that I’m interested in,” Washington told Empire magazine. “I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley.”
The pair previously worked together on the 2007 film, “American Gangster.”
“We had a great go-round the first go-round [on ‘American Gangster’], and here we are,” continued Washington. “He’s engaged. He’s excited about life and his next film. He’s an inspiration.”
“We should all want to feel like that at 86,” the star added.
But during an appearance last month on the UK’s “Graham Norton Show,” Mescal, 28, took a moment to gush over meeting the Oscar winner on set.
“It was a big day in my life — it was amazing. I spent the first day thinking, ‘I must go introduce myself to him,’ and I stood there for several minutes before I [decided], ‘Not today,’” the actor reminisced. “The next day I decided to be a brave boy.”