Denzel Washington drops hints about impending retirement from acting

The legendary actor made the revelation when talking about his role in the forthcoming 'Gladiator II' film

Denzel Washington has suggested he might soon step away from cinema.

The actor has spent the best part of four decades on the big screen and his next role is in Ridley Scott’s forthcoming epic Gladiator II, a sequel to the original 2000 film that also stars Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal. In a new interview, however, he insinuates his interest in making films is waning.

“There are very few films left for me to make that I’m interested in, and I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley,” Washington told Empire. “We had a great go-round the first go-round [on 2007’s American Gangster], and here we are.

“He’s engaged. He’s excited about life and his next film. He’s an inspiration,” Washington continued. “We should all want to feel like that at 86.”

Gladiator II comes to cinemas on November 22. When its trailer was released, it was quickly review-bombed, meaning it has received thousands of dislikes alongside its many likes.

According to comments, one reason for the backlash is the trailer seemingly giving many of the film’s key elements away.

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Things started to veer into more problematic territory in regards to comments over the choice of music, notably the use of ‘No Church In The Wild’ by Jay Z and Kanye West, as some questioned the use of a rap song in a film about the Roman Empire. The song itself includes the lyrics: “Tears on the mausoleum floor / Blood stains the Colosseum doors.”

Combined with some asking why Washington uses a New York accent in the film – even while most characters use the historically inaccurate British accent in a film set in Ancient Rome – and the actor’s inclusion altogether, things get quite toxic, with further comments being racist.

In other news, Jenna Ortega revealed that Washington’s film Man On Fire made her want to become an actor. 

“I’m so appreciative of my six-year-old self who wanted to be a president and an astronaut…because I realise now that I was always looking for a way out,” she told the publication, before revealing that she then went on to watch the Washington film Man On Fire, also starring a young Dakota Fanning.

The film, she explained, “changed the entire course of my existence,” after which she decided she wanted to be an actor after seeing Fanning’s performance.