Denzel Washington would like to gently remind you that he is a movie star. The two-time Oscar winner has been absent from the screen since 2014, when The Equalizer was released. Now, though, he has two major projects coming up, on both the blockbuster and the critical-darling ends of the spectrum.
Fences, the August Wilson adaptation he’s directing and starring in, has just been set for a limited release on December 25—perfectly timed for awards consideration. Set in the 1950s, it’s based on the play about a former baseball player named Troy (Washington) who grapples with race relations in America. Viola Davis co-stars as Rose, Troy’s wife. The duo also starred in a 2010 revival of Fences on Broadway, both earning Tony Awards for their performances.
The film, as it appears now, has all the trappings of a potential prestige drama, and will be Washington’s first real awards play since Flight in 2012. He was nominated for a best-actor Oscar for that Robert Zemeckis drama about an alcoholic pilot, but didn’t win.
Fences could also be Washington’s second attempt to line up some directing awards, his first chance since 2007’s The Great Debaters. While it was well received by critics, Debaters had lukewarm box-office results and its only major awards recognition was a Golden Globe nod for best motion picture, drama. Fences is the third feature film the best-actor (and best-supporting-actor) winner has directed; could it also nab him a third Oscar? The stars are aligning; the bases are loaded; other metaphors of a karmic nature seem appropriate. Plus, there’s also awards potential for the criminally under-awarded Davis here.
The film is Washington’s second major release this year, following The Magnificent Seven—a buzzed-about remake which also costars Chris Pratt, Ethan Hawke, and Byung-hun Lee. The western re-unites the actor with his Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. (Washington won his second acting Oscar after starring in the 2001 crime thriller.) All signs point to major box-office success here, queuing Washington up for Fences awards buzz. And even if both films are disasters—which is hard to imagine—it’s not likely that they’ll have a huge effect on Washington’s near-iconic status in Hollywood. Let the (extremely premature) speculation begin.
