Josh Brolin and Denzel Washington co-starred in 2007’s ‘American Gangster’ as a detective and a Harlem drug dealer in the 1960s–70s, respectively. While filming one of their scenes together, the two had a heated moment on set, which Brolin recalled in a recent chat on ‘In Depth with Graham Bensinger.’
“Denzel was a little late to set and there was a whole thing there,” the actor shared. “And then he showed me the lines … he didn’t change any of my lines, but he kind of changed the structure of it. He said, ‘I think I’m gonna put this down here and I’m gonna put that up there.’ But he wouldn’t really look at me.”
“So, I was trying to remember the structure, and then we rehearsed. It wasn’t that many lines, mostly mine. And I’m supposed to be super confident,” he continued. “It’s Denzel Washington, man. It’s … not easy. You’re just this actor who they’re trying out, seeing if he’s the real thing or not. And I forgot a line.”
“And I put my hand on his shoulder and I said, ‘What’s the line?’ and he hits my hand off and he said, ‘Don’t ever fucking put your hand on me,’ and I was like, ‘Holy shit, I’m gonna scrap with Denzel Washington. This is crazy.’ We’re not actors anymore … at least in my mind. In his mind, he was just doing his job.”
The biographical crime film also featured Russell Crowe, Chiwetek Ejiofor, and Lymari Nadal. Ridley Scott directed it from a screenplay written by Steven Zaillian.
Washington and Scott recently reunited for ‘Gladiator II.’ In the sequel, the actor played Macrinus, a former slave plotting to take control of Rome and keeping slaves as entertainment.
The new ‘Gladiator’ movie premiered in Hollywood this week after debuting in Sydney, Australia, last month. During the event, Scott responded to Washington’s claims about a same-sex kiss scene involving his character that was removed from the final cut.
‘Gladiator II’ hit the U.S. theaters on November 22.
