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Fri 11 September 2026 18:15, UK
Denzel Washington‘s illustrious career has had him working with the finest talent within the entertainment industry.
From the likes of Ethan Hawke to Meryl Streep to auteur directors such as Ridley Scott and Spike Jonze, Washington has built a formidable yet varied roster, so it might seem curious that he would have any regrets, and yet, there is one iconic Golden Age actor he wishes he had the chance to work with, and that’s Sidney Poitier.
Poitier’s career paved the way for Washington’s; at a time when Black actors were often relegated to supporting roles, the former became a leading man and proved that he could carry a major Hollywood production, such that, in 1964, he became the first Black man to win the Academy Award for ‘Best Actor’, for his performance in Lilies of the Field, in which he played a handyman who helps a group of German nuns build a chapel.
Washington has never been shy about acknowledging the debt he owes Poitier, and the two eventually developed a close relationship, with Poitier becoming an important mentor early in his career, but they just never managed to make a film together. Speaking about him after his death in January 2022, Washington admitted, “God bless him, but yeah, I missed that opportunity”.
His influence on Washington went far beyond simply opening doors, as he also told the young actor that the first four or five films a performer makes determine how they are perceived in the business, so his career advice was very simply to choose carefully, something Washington took rather seriously.
So instead of chasing every lucrative opportunity that came his way, he became known for turning down roles that did not feel would show his range as an actor and pursuing more challenging projects, including Richard Attenborough’s Cry Freedom, where he played the South African, Steve Biko.
It was this approach that ultimately helped establish him as one of the most respected actors of his generation, with a string of hits that rivalled the best around him, and by the time he stood on the Academy Awards stage in 2002, the relationship between the two men had come full circle.
Further reading: Cutting Room Floor
Poitier was presented with an honorary Oscar that night, with Washington paying tribute to the man who had helped inspire his career, and later in the ceremony, when he himself won the Academy Award for ‘Best Actor’ for Training Day, in his acceptance speech, he dedicated the award to the veteran.
“I’ll always be chasing you, Sidney,” Washington said, “I’ll always be following in your footsteps”.
There is something particularly fitting about those words; Poitier had spent his career breaking down the barriers that stood in the way of Black actors, and with the barriers rightfully diminished, Washington followed him through those doors and, in time, became a trailblazer in his own right. But for all that Washington has since achieved, it seems rather ironic that he never got the chance to stand alongside the man whose footsteps he has spent his career tracing.
