the only people of color in the entire series’ six-season run—that he became a certified star and household name.
What is Denzel Washington’s net worth in 2024?
Denzel Washington’s net worth in 2024 is estimated at a cool $300 million.
What was Denzel Washington’s first big movie?
Washington’s first major movie role was as Pfc. Peterson in the 1984 World War II murder mystery film A Soldier’s Story, in which he starred alongside heavy-hitters from stage and screen, including David Alan Grier, Howard E. Rollins, Adolph Caesar and Patti LaBelle. The film was nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, with Caesar nabbing a Best Supporting Actor nod as well, and raked in more than $21.8 million on a $6 million budget.
How much did Denzel Washington make for Equalizer?
Washington reportedly pocketed $20 million for The Equalizer in 2015. The film grossed more than $192 million worldwide on a $55 million budget. Washington didn’t just star in the film—he was also credited as a producer on the project, which was successful enough to get a sequel.
Antoine Fuqua directed the film, and he and Washington famously work quite well together, with Washington getting a Best Actor Oscar for his lead role in Fuqua’s Training Day 12 years prior. Washington joked to The Aquarian of their on-set reunion, “Yes, we have the ‘brother’ meeting every weekend, at the Brotherhood of Black Directors and Black Actors’ meeting. No, Antoine is obviously very talented, and we’ve had some success in the past, and I also look forward to our next opportunity.”
How much did Denzel Washington make for Training Day?
Training Day earned Washington his second acting Oscar, as well as a $12 million paycheck.
Director Fuquarevealed to Vanity Fair that one of Washington’s most memorable moments in the movie, a speech in which his corrupt cop character says, “King Kong ain’t got s**t on me,” was improvised.
“The King Kong moment came out of Denzel. I remember that moment because we were doing the scene, and he just started going off,” Fuqua recalled. “I remember looking at the cameraman and saying, ‘I hope you got that because I don’t think we’re going to get that again.’ Denzel came over to me and goes, ‘Whoo, I don’t know where that came from.’ It was exhausting for him. You saw him just go there in that place. It was one of those moments where it gave you chills.”
Co-star Ethan Hawke, who was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his role, said working with Washington was one of the greatest highlights of his career.
“It was like playing music with Miles Davis or baseball with Babe Ruth,” Hawke told The New York Times. “Denzel changed my life. To be 30 and get to work with one of the greats of all time? I’ve never seen anybody be a flat-out better storyteller. He knows what the audience is thinking. He knows how to surprise them. His imagination is so thorough.” He added, “The greats can play offense and defense, and most people can’t. Jack Nicholson, Gene Hackman and Denzel manage to be equally compelling as protagonist and antagonist.”
How much did Denzel Washington make for The Equalizer 2?
The Equalizer 2 was Washington’s first-ever sequel, and it was a successful outing, grossing $190 million worldwide on a $60 million budget. His exact salary hasn’t been reported, but we can assume it was at least around the same $20 million he earned for the first Equalizer installment.
Washington explained to Entertainment Weekly that he reprised his role of Robert McCall because the sequel saw growth and more depth to the character. “For me, that’s the only reason. The only reason is there is a reason. Not just to go blow up some more stuff and run and jump around. There’s got to be some kind of story. The actor in me is hopeful there’s a good story.”
He added of director Fuqua, “We just work well together, and we’ve had great success together. I know he’s a wonderful filmmaker. We’ve had good success creatively and financially, business-wise. I enjoy working with Antoine. I’ve worked with three or four directors now three or four times: the late, great Tony Scott, Spike Lee and Ed Zwick. It’s cliché, but it is about relationships, and the people you like working with, who you get along with. Life’s too short.”
How much did Denzel Washington make for American Gangster?
Washington signed on to star in American Gangsterback in 2004 for $20 million, and his contract required him to be paid whether or not the film got made. Due to reported studio differences with Fuqua, who was originally slated to direct the movie, American Gangster got canned—but Washington still got his paycheck. However, Universal later decided to make the film after all with director Ridley Scott—and they had to pay Washington another $20 million, as his original contract was voided once the movie was canceled the first time. The movie’s budget ballooned to $100 million, and it grossed more than $269 million worldwide.
Washington said kingpin Frank Lucas, who he played in the film, warned him not to play him as too soft.
“As he said to me over and over, he said, ‘Denzel, it’s a dirty business and if you choose to be in it you’ve got to be dirty. There are no nice heroin dealers, they don’t make it, and they end up on the sidewalk. You’re dealing with crooks all the time; it’s just a den of thieves,'” he recalled to Rotten Tomatoes. “As he said to me many a time, he said, ‘I would tell you once.’ I said, ‘What if they just slipped up?’ He said, ‘I would tell you once.’ That was his reputation. You just didn’t cross Frank Lucas; you didn’t get the opportunity to cross him.”
How much did Denzel Washington make for Fences?
It’s unknown exactly how much Washington took home for 2016’s Fences, but it was a passion project for the star, who acted in, directed, and produced the film adaptation of the August Wilson classic play, for
which he previously won a Tony Award.
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