5 times Denzel’s character name tipped us off to greatness

Denzel Washington is one of the greatest actors of all time. That phrase is not just the name of a former podcast hosted by W. Kamau Bell and Kevin Avery, but also stands as fact. He’s been active as a performer, starting with his stage work, for 50 years—and at age 70 can still open a film and draw box office without slipping into superhero spandex.

But the peculiar thing with Denzel is that the name of his specific characters often clues the audience in on just what to expect before the two-time Academy Award winner with that confident smile hits the screen. And then he flips those expectations into something spectacular. (In latest Spike Lee joynt Highest 2 Lowest, their fifth collaboration, his name David King tips us off immediately to his ranking in the music business—and its precariousness.)

Let’s investigate.

BLEEK GILLIAM IN MO’ BETTER BLUES

Discussing the role of Black art and who controls it, you could say this 1990 film initiates the conversation that Ryan Coogler’s 2025 blockbuster Sinners continues. It is the first of five collaborations between director Spike Lee and actor Denzel Washington. Bleek Gilliam, a role based on Spike’s father, is a working musician who must figure out what or whom to love once his first love, music, is violently taken away from him. That realization at first feels quite bleak, until he opens his heart to relationship love. Come for the (peak) Wesley Snipes versus Denzel Washington banter, but stay for the music of the Branford Marsalis quartet and Terence Blanchard on trumpet, along with extra scenes featuring the late Robin Harris and exceptional cinematography by the great Earnest Dickerson.

Those fits? Elite. Never has a jazz club looked so cool.

EASY RAWLINS IN DEVIL IN A  BLUE DRESS

My forever rewatchable film that I’ll throw on—it’s like comfort food to me. This mystery thriller, written and directed by Carl Franklin, is based on Walter Mosley’s 1990 novel of the same name and features Denzel Washington, who plays Ezekiel “Easy” Rawlins, and Don Cheadle as his buddy Mouse, the friend you call for help and then regret doing so immediately.

These two run the streets of Compton looking for a mysterious woman played by Jennifer Beals. But the story serves as a depiction of one of the landing spots of the Great Migration, the large-scale movement of African Americans from the rural South to the North and West between the 1910s and 1970s.

Those same Compton streets that NWA came from get fleshed out with background from a late 40’s Black perspective. “Easy” is a real easy customer until the cops, the crooks, and even his shortsighted compatriots try to play him for a fool, then, he’s not so Easy anymore.

Classic, classic Denzel flick.

JOHN CREASY IN MAN ON FIRE

Rhymes with “greasy” because when your child is kidnapped, you will hire the most desperate and down-on-his-luck former special forces operative. He will use any tactic necessary, which could include putting an explosive pen in someone’s backside, cutting off digits from someone who has information, or, just for the sake of emphasis, blowing up a trendy dance club to make it clear: Where is the girl?

Denzel went buck-wild dark, really dark, in this 2004 film that precedes Liam Neeson and his “particular set of skills” telephone speechifying, to find this little girl, played by Dakota Fanning, who we see redeeming John Creasy’s soul.

Yes. Denzel got greasy, for all the right reasons. Famous last words: “I wish you had more time.”

JOE MILLER IN PHILADELPHIA

When Denzel goes by a plain name in a film, it indicates that he is the perspective through which we see everything. Philadelphia, directed by the late, great Jonathan Demme and shot by the wizard cinematographer Tak Fujimoto, is a huge landmark film. It did the things nobody wanted to do. The first mainstream Hollywood film to explicitly address HIV/AIDS and homophobia, and portray gay people not just in a positive light, but as, well, you know, people.

Tom Hanks, Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas, and even The Boss (Springsteen wrote the song)—it’s loaded with star power, and audiences flocked to it. Demme was the guy to do it.

Here’s my thing: Tom Hanks is believeable great, and he won the Oscar, but isn’t it Joe Miller, middle-of-the-road ambulance-chasing Black lawyer who has a change of heart, an awakening, a different view of the world after defending and winning this court case on behalf of attorney Andrew Beckett (Hanks) who is fired from his job after the law firm discovers he’s gay and has AIDS?

I always thought Denzel was robbed of hardware for his “average Joe” portrayal.

WILLIAM “WHIP” WHITAKER SR IN FLIGHT

One of Denzel Washington’s trademarks, he’s one of the best to ever do it, is to take on dramatic roles with a comprehensive range, capturing all the notes, emotions, and humanity while at the same time seamlessly weaving in a comedic performance—as if to say, life with all of its downturns has jokes, irony, guffaws, moments that you still have to laugh at, ’cause that’s how life works.

Flight from 2012, directed by Robert Zemeckis, contains an unforgettable opening 30 minutes that you should never watch just before boarding a plane. The film is about Captain Whip Whitaker, who has a substance abuse problem. That “whip” of addiction makes him lose his family, his self-respect, and control of his life.

Denzel’s teamed with Don Cheadle (again) and John Goodman (again), who plays his party buddy and drug dealer Harling Mays. Goodman is chewing scenery like steak grizzle, stealing scenes from everybody like grabbing cash out of the register drawer. Setting up punchlines that Denzel catches with a no-look pass, stoicism. 

They exude veteran-actor chemistry, kizmet, and fun in this film about addiction. But then, in one of the final moments, the dramatic power of Denzel, one of the greatest actors of all time you recall, returns, and we are devastated. His range remains immeasurable.