“I don’t want to get used to that”: Denzel Washington Wanted to Give up Boxing after a $74M Movie That Got Him an Oscar Nod

Denzel Washington, regarded as one of the best actors of his generation, has a career spanning several decades with work on screen as well as on stage. Initially, he started his career in theater, but soon transitioned to television with the medical drama St. Elsewhere. This project put the actor on the map, and soon every filmmaker in town wanted to work with him.

However, there was one movie that not only tackled major themes but also earned the actor an Oscar nomination. The movie is 1999’s The Hurricane, in which he plays the role of boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter.

Washington prepared extensively for the role and even perfected his boxing skills. However, one conversation was enough for him to put the boxing gloves down for good.

Denzel Washington Nearly Gave Up Boxing After The Hurricane

Directed by Norman Jewison, The Hurricane is a biographical movie that centers around the life of professional boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter. Further, it details how he was wrongfully convicted of triple homicide in the 1960s. The 1999 movie, with Denzel Washington leading the project, navigates the boxer’s life, his struggles, and his deep determination and zest to prove his innocence.

The movie used Carter’s autobiography The Sixteenth Round: From Number 1 Contender to #45472, and in order to fully capture the essence of the storyline, Washington went through intense training. While he loved the sport, one incident completely changed his outlook on the same.

Further, he even considered leaving it for the rest of his life. In an interview, Washington detailed:

I was preparing for the film The Hurricane and we were actually sparring, not me and Spinks but me and another guy … and I started getting a little slower and headaches and I said to Michael, ‘I’m starting to get headaches,’ and he said, ‘Oh you’ll get used to that.’ And that’s when I stopped. I don’t want to get used to that.

While the real-life injuries bothered the actor, he didn’t leave boxing after The Hurricane. In fact, he continued his boxing training for several years after the movie as well, as it had good physical effects on his body.

This art also came in handy when he worked in The Book of Eli as well, in which his character was skilled in martial arts. And given his years of training, he was able to do full justice to the role.

Not Brad Pitt, but Denzel Washington Was the Front Runner for This Movie

Denzel Washington was the go-to actor in every director’s book in the 1990s, with several high-profile roles being offered to him. One of which was David Fincher’s crime thriller movie Seven. It focused on detective William Somerset, played by Morgan Freeman, and his new partner David Mills, as they try to catch a serial killer on the run.

While the role of Mills ultimately went to Brad Pitt, initially Fincher considered Washington for the same. But the actor turned the role down as it was too intense for him. In an interview, he added:

I was like, man, it’s just too much. […] Then I saw it and I was like, ‘Oh God.’ Evidently it wasn’t for me, it was for Brad all the time. […] It was just too much when I read it, it was just different when I saw it.

Brad Pitt played the hot-headed David Mills to the best of his abilities, so it’s hard to imagine anybody else in that role. And while Washington regrets losing out on the part, even he adds that nobody else could have done a better job than Pitt.

Interestingly, at the same time when Seven was offered to the actor, he already had three other movies, namely Crimson Tide, Devil in a Blue Dress, and Virtuosity, in his hands. So, taking over Fincher’s project would have meant he needed to leave one of these movies, which seems like he was not ready to do.

You can watch The Hurricane on Apple TV.