Denzel Washington hints at possible retirement from film

The US actor, who made his film debut in 1977, teased his impending departure from movies in a new interview with Empire magazine.

The two-time Oscar winner, 69, plays the role of Macrinus, a wealthy arms dealer who wants to be Emperor, in Ridley Scott’s hugely anticipated Gladiator sequel, Gladiator II, which premieres in November.

Having wrapped production, Washington, whose long been applauded for his genre-spanning work, said there’s not much left piquing his interest.

“There are very few films left for me to make that I’m interested in,” Washington candidly told the outlet.

“And I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley,” he continued, the pair having last worked together for 2007’s American Gangster.

“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.”

It’d certainly be a sad day when Washington does decide to call it quits.

The 10-time Oscar nominee has fronted critically acclaimed films across four decades, from The Equalizer trilogy, to Man on Fire, Remember the Titans and his Oscar-winning performances in Training Day and Glory.The New York Times named him the greatest actor of the 21st century in 2020, while Forbes reported in 2017 Washington had banked a staggering $US290 million pre-tax since the publication first began tallying earnings in 2003.

For now, at least, the GOAT has plenty on the horizon.

Washington just wrapped shooting on the upcoming police procedural drama film High and Low, a remake of the 1963 film of the same name, directed by Spike Lee.

He’s also set to return to Broadway, a format of which he is no stranger to having made his debut back in 1988.

Washington will co-star with Jake Gyllenhaal in a revival of William Shakespeare’s Othello, with production set to start in 2025.

The notoriously private actor has been married to his wife Pauletta since 1983. The couple share four adult children.

Speaking to GQ in a rare interview published in 2021, Washington revealed why he’s avoided the tabloid glare for much of his career.

“[Actor] Sidney Poitier told me this years ago … ‘If they see you for free all week, they won’t pay to see you on the weekend, because they feel like they’ve seen you. If you walk by the magazine section in the supermarket and they’ve known you all their life, there’s no mystery. They can’t take the ride,’” he said at the time.

“My professional work is being a better actor. I don’t know how to be a celebrity.”