Denzel Washington was having too much fun to get an Oscar
While we were thoroughly entertained, Oscars voters were not.
As this year’s pretty wide-open awards season finally draws to a close, the 2025 Oscars are within touching distance – well, for everyone except Denzel Washington.
The storied actor, who has always managed to expertly walk the line between admired thespian and bonafide Hollywood star, did not find himself among the nominees this time around, despite being a very popular candidate when his most recent film, Gladiator II, was released.
A long-awaited sequel from filmmaker Sir Ridley Scott, and over two decades in the making, the sword and sandal epic might not have quite matched up to its Russell Crowe-starring predecessor, an enduring pick for many film fans’ favourite-ever flick.
However, its flamboyant antagonist Macrinus, a villainous weapons dealer and gladiator owner with an unquenchable thirst for both revenge and power, was a real highlight – and especially when brought to outrageous life by Denzel Washington with lip-smacking glee.
And herein lies the rub – Washington was simply having too much fun to be recognised with any kind of Oscars or awards bodies glory, as I (sadly) predicted in my review in November. Unfortunately, the curse of the Oscars comedic role snub has struck again.
Denzel’s Macrinus is unapologetically bold, maniacal and over-the-top, swallowing scenery (we’ve moved beyond mere chewing) and stealing every scene he’s in as a deliciously meme-able, panto-level bad guy. As soon as I saw it, for example, I knew Washington’s one-of-a-kind delivery of the line ‘that, my friend, is politicssss’ would be etched on my brain forever.
Washington played Macrinus, a villainous schemer, with evident fun – which was probably the problem (Picture: Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures)It’s also ironic to see Washington left out in the cold by the Academy considering his astounding Oscars legacy: the man has won two acting Academy Awards, which is impressive enough by itself, but he has also been nominated 10 – yes, 10! – times. This puts him right near the top of the record books, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Bette Davis, Katharine Hepburn, Laurence Olivier, Jack Nicolson and Meryl Streep.
Comment nowWho do you think has been robbed of Oscar recognition for a lighter performance?Comment NowBut his winning performances – Glory and Training Day – were hardly a barrel full of laughs as an American Civil War epic, where Washington’s character is flogged for going AWOL to try and find soldiers shoes, and a hard-hitting crime drama, where he plays a tough but troubled narcotics officer.
These have always been the types of genres and turns that Oscars voters prefer over humorous and lighter fare or performances. Now Gladiator II could hardly be marketed as a comedy with its blood-thirsty, back-stabbing take on Roman history and politics being played straight – but it does veer into more entertaining, lighter territory whenever Washington is on screen (regardless of whatever dastardly deeds he may be completing).
The star has cache with the Academy, having won two Oscars already and received a massive nine nominations (Picture: AFP via Getty Images)And while Academy members might not have appreciated that, thousands of fans and I certainly did – after all, Maximus’s defiant yell of ‘Are you not entertained?’ from the first film is one of its most famous quotes, and Washington certainly received that message loud and clear for the sequel.
But this snub is the latest in a rather long line of excellent comedic work being overlooked. Amy Adams – another longtime nominee at the Oscars with six, but still no wins – was overlooked for her pitch-perfect work as Disney princess come-to-life Giselle in the less-than-fairytale reality of New York City in 2007’s Enchanted.
When Airplane! revolutionised how Hollywood – and the thoroughly-tickled public – saw spoof movies in 1980, raking in $171million (£135m) on a budget of $3.5m (£2.7m), there was no room for Robert Hays on the best actor list despite his incredible lynchpin performance in the chaotic comedy. And it was his first movie!
It’s the latest in a long line of comedic and lighter turns to be snubbed, including that of Amy Adams as a sweet Disney princess in Enchanted (Picture: Disney Enterprises/Kobal/Shutterstock)There’s also Cary Grant in Bringing Up Baby, Rosalind Russell in His Girl Friday, Donald O’Connor in Singin’ in the Rain, Cleavon Little in Blazing Saddles, Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, Sacha Baron Cohen in Borat, Reese Witherspoon in Election… I could go on. But these are all brilliant turns – most career-defining, and all characters that could be easily identified – along with their movie – by just one image. That’s how iconic they are. But none got the Oscar recognition.
It’s also curious that the Academy appears defensive enough about its dubious track record in recognising funnier performances to actually have an article on its website called ‘Comedic Performances That Got Oscars Credit’, because it’s such a commonly cited prejudice.
To be fair, there are some great nominations on there – Melissa McCarthy’s for Bridesmaids, Abigail Breslin and Alan Arkin’s (who won!) for Little Miss Sunshine, and another win for Marisa Tomei in My Cousin Vinny – proving that voters do have a sense of humour sometimes.
Robert Hays also did a tremendous job in legendary parody movie Airplane! but wasn’t nominated (Picture: Paramount Pictures)However, there is an interesting shift in the air this awards season with the success of Wicked and The Substance – both represent equally unpopular genres as comedy when it comes to what is traditionally considered ‘worthy’, with musicals and horror respectively. Both also go forward to the Oscars with wins already under their belts, and multiple nominations on Sunday – five for The Substance and a whopping 10 for Wicked.
Musicals did enjoy great success back in their golden era of the 1950s and 60s, before falling out of favour to become ‘unfashionable’ in more recent years (bar Chicago, but that was over 20 years ago now), while horror has mostly been dismissed as the ‘cheap thrill’ genre recently despite past classics like The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby.
Just one horror movie has won the best picture at the Oscars, Silence of the Lambs in 1992, while 10 musicals have – but nine of them happened before 1970.
The 2025 Oscars are holding space for other ‘unpopular’ genres with horror and musicals though, so its voters will hopefully consider Washington’s type of performance more carefully in the future (Picture: Mubi via AP)So, while 2025 might not be the year the Academy recognises the full genius of Denzel’s exceptional performance as a ‘baddie’ in Gladiator II, and a comedic turn is passed over yet again, there are signs of hope for the future.
After all, best supporting actress Ariana Grande was definitely having fun in Wicked.
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