Ethan Hawke reveals what Denzel Washington said to him the night Hawke lost his ‘Training Day’ Oscar
The year was 2002 and Ethan Hawke was up for the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his work in “Training Day.” When Marcia Gay Harden read Jim Broadbent’s name, winning for “Iris,” Hawke’s co-star Denzel Washington whispered something in his ear.
It wasn’t “boom!” As Hawke revealed in a recent interview, Washington – who had already won an Oscar for “Glory” and would win a second that very night – said, “It’s better that you didn’t win. Losing was better.”
Hawke, who would go on to get three more Oscar nominations for acting (“Boyhood”) as well as screenwriting (“Before Sunset,” “Before Midnight”), expanded what Washington meant. “You don’t want an award to improve your status. You want to improve the award’s status,” he said. “That’s the way he thinks. That’s what I’m talking about playing with Babe Ruth. The Academy Award has more power, because Denzel has a couple. It didn’t elevate who he was.”
Previously in the chat, Hawke compared Washington to Babe Ruth, and called him “ the greatest actor of our generation.”
Washington speaking sotto voce to celebrities at the Oscars could very well be more common than we realize. Back in 2022, when Will Smith lost his cool and slapped Chris Rock during a “G.I. Jane” joke gone wrong, Smith said during his “King Richard” acceptance remarks that Washington approached him during a commercial break and said, “At your highest moment, be careful, that’s when the devil comes for you.”
PREDICT the 2024 Emmy nominees through July 17
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions