Denzel Washington has already made plans for his post-acting activities.
The legendary actor sat down on Jimmy Kimmel Live! to talk about his new film Gladiator 2 and, in the process, addressed some recent comments that he made about contemplating his retirement. When asked about what he said, Washington gave some special insight into the next several years of his career.
“I have five or six great directors that are interested in working with me and I’m interested in,” said Washington. "And after that, I’m interested in getting behind the camera. But by the time I finish all of that, I’ll be like 76, 78 years old.”
After that, Jimmy Kimmel suggest that “less acting” is more of Washington’s strategy — to which the actor responds with, “That’s the plan.”
Earlier in the conversation, Washington gave his two cents on Mike Tyson’s underwhelming boxing match against Jake Paul. When asked by Kimmel whether he considered that match “to be boxing,” Washington responded with a vague answer. “Mike is one of the all-time greats, and I’m glad he got paid,” he said.
In a recent interview on Australia's Today show, Washington gave a preview of what else he'll be working on before he calls it quits.
“I’ve played Othello at 22. I’m about to play Othello at 70,” Washington told the Today team. “After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler’s writing a part for me in the next Black Panther. After that, I’m gonna do the film Othello. After that, I’m gonna do King Lear. After that, I’m gonna retire.”
Last week, Washington revealed in an interview that a scene featuring him kissing a man was cut from the film. "I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out, they cut it, I think they got chicken," Washington explained. "I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet."
"I killed him about five minutes later," he added. "It’s Gladiator. It’s the kiss of death."
Washington recently linked up with Snoop Dogg at the premiere of Gladiator 2. The actor was seen on the red carpet hugging Snoop and telling him, 'I enjoy how you enjoy life.'
