Denzel Washington On His Nosebleed Inauguration Seats And Playing Obama (VIDEO)

Denzel Washington talked about his trip to the inauguration and the idea he could play Obama in a biopic while on "The Late Show" Thursday night.

After Dave Letterman held up a photo of Denzel sitting alone in a sea of empty chairs the day of the inauguration, the actor explained how his wife mistakenly told him they had to be there at 7 am. Worse, when he got there in the freezing cold, his family's seats were far from the action.

Fortunately with his hours of extra time, he climbed barriers and skipped ahead to snag a better view of the ceremony.

And while Denzel had heard his named has been bandied about for a possible Obama movie, it seemed the president may prefer Will Smith because of his more prominent ears.

WATCH:

Comments

[Veneita]

He had seats?!

[We-Are-The-Ones]

Denzel is fooling himself. He cannot play Obama regardless of how he would desire it. He is waaaaaay to old. Period. Ears can be made via makeup. Erasing some 15 years or so, not so much.

[robXdion]

King Kong ain't got nothing on him !!!

[veritas88]

While Denzel is not my pick, as great as he is, he's only 7 years older than Obama, so it's not impossible.

[postman66]

They are 7 years apart in age.

[Ptama]

I don’t think a very popular actor will be a wise choice to play the Prez. I think it would be too distracting and would be too difficult to separate the celebrity of the actor from the president which we see everyday.

My recommendations:
Henry Lennix and Regina King it is, hands down. He’ll have to tone down the stern appearance he always seems to have and maybe slim down a bit. Regina has the maturity and gravitas to pull of Michelle.

Barak’s Dad - Djimon Hounsou

Barak’s Mom - Mary-Louise Parker

Michelle’s Mom - Margaret Avery or Martin Lawrence aka Mama

[postman66]

Regina King has the chops, but she's too short.

[ItHadToBeSaid]

" Michelle"s Mom - Margaret Avery or Martin Lawrence aka Mama"

Now you KNOW you' wrong for that one. ;-)

[veritas88]

In a feature film:
POTUS: Harper Hill
FLOTUS: Merrin Dungey
Perfect casting right there people, look 'em up!

[robXdion]

Hill Harper is very short and doesn't have the voice. I know it's cool that he went to Harvard Law with Obama back in the day, but playing him in a feature film? nuh-uh, Maybe in a TV mini-series.

[Village]

Will Smith can't act, but details, details, details.

[Ptama]

Will Smith Can't act? are you insane. I recommend you rent the following films then come back to this site. The pursuit of happiness; Seven pounds; I am Legend

Let us know what you think...

[robXdion]

NO, he can't act. And don't come with the "but he makes that money tho'". Herding in mindless unsophisticated masses isn't really an indicator of acting skill, just popularity. Quantity isn't Quality. If you watched Will Smith do silent, thoughtful moments where he needs to show emotion in those movies you named it's almost laughable. He doesn't really have a source of deep pain to reflect on and it shows, badly. If this doesn't make sense, then compare Smith to Don Cheadle.

[Crissy Patters]

ICAM!
I want a new actor to play POTUS, someone totally new on the scene, who'd knock the role out of thte park.

[HarlemFreeThought]

FYI: According to the National Black Republican's website Denzel is a homeboy REPUBLICAN!!
http://www.nbra.info/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.blackgop&x=5122282

[HC4BO]

Colin Powell is not even on the list ???

[KevinH]

OMG ... a black man that is a conservative!! The fact is that he doesn't publicize his political status like the rest of the losers in hollywood must mean there is something wrong with him, right?. Most conservatives don't walk around with their political views on their sleeve like liberals. Thank god!

The fact that you refer to him as a homeboy ... shows your mentality as a liberal.

[bellenoir55]

Kevin H,Denzel may be Republican,but I doubt that he's a conservative,by THEIR standards
:-)

[myjs]

This group makes claims that can't be proved. MLK's wife claimed otherwise. Many of the other African- American's listed were post Civil War - Abraham Lincoln Republicans.

[postman66]

Denzel is a lifelong Democrat, they twisted that interview to fit their needs. The words Dem or Rep. was never used. Here's the trancript.trancript.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/soapbox/denzel.asp

[iceage7]

don cheadle should play Obamas father. He does the african accent just fine and looks close to Obamas father.

[iceage7]

Will they go back to Obamas father coming to America and meeting Obamas mother. That would be great.

[VSamuels]

Denzel has the walk, we know he can do the manerisms and he has the 1 Million Dollar smile. Smith is O.K. but what ultimately defines Obama isn't just his ears, it is that electric wattage smile, and I'm not sure if that is a signature which he can deliver. The guy on Saturday Nite Live was and does resemble Obama, but he looks far too omnious and mean, Obama is a very attractive and alluring character and this is one chief reason, he hasn't been able to deliver the type of performance that some others have done with Bush, Cheney and Palin portrayals.

Heck, maybe the actor who will play and bring Obama to life---has even been born yet!

Right now, I'm just enjoying the brother who is playing the brotha, that is Obama.

[darr]

I agree that both Denzel and Will are both talented actors. I also agree that they are not the only two AA actors to choose from. For me watching a bio-pic, an actor doesn't have to look "just like" the person they are playing. I mean look as Sir Anthony Hopkins playing Richard Nixxon for pities sake. He looks nothing like Nixxon and his portrayal was dead on. It's the caliber of the actor, not how much they look like the subject.
Now here is a name out of left field. Jesse L. Martin (formerly Lt. Green on Law and Order).
He has soft spoken voice that can be extremely firm and persuasive, just like our Pres! I know some of you may have to get past the goatee to see him as Obama. Just imagine him without the beard, he could pass.
BTW, I agree that this is all speculation as a bio-pic of Obama is several years premature.
Well, there is my first post.

[chitown8]

Honestly HP the entire interview was great. He called talking to John Travolta is like phone sex. Dave did a great job with Denzel last night.

I agree Harry Lennix or Hill Harper.

[conniedogs]

I see Denzel as a really strong black man. I don't think any other actor could have captured Malcolm X quite the way he did. I think Will is a better choice to play the pres.

[swan1]

Rather see Will as Obama, and that woman that played on "King of Queens" as Michelle. Will would have to lose weight .

[Whycee54]

I hate to tell you America, but as much as I love Will Smith and Denzel, There are more out of work African American actors that could play Obama and do just as well. Why must every famous black person in history be played by Denzel or Will?

[brueso]

of course you're right- but the way Hollywood works is to get the actors that are most likely to put aszes in the seats, and those two are the biggest African American stars out there.

[joewalters]

Any production company that attempts this will automatically catch the curiosity of the public. People will go to see it. Just get a good director, producers, and writers behind it and you have a winner. Good director and producers (such as Spielberg, Spike Lee, etc.) would ensure the proper actors to assume the roles, even if they are unknowns.

[conniedogs]

True, but hollywood isn't willing to give AA males the opportunity.

[EmeraldWorld]

Hollywood has never been kind to minority actors/actresses, especially the black ones. Look at most of Will Smith's movies that have a love interest in them. The actress is almost NEVER black. Why? Because Hollywood insiders believe that the movie will be dismissed by most potential viewers as a "black movie" and they'll skip it. Unfortunately there's some truth to this, but it doesn't excuse the fact that Hollywood still LOVES to put most minorities in stereotypical roles. There currently aren't enough POC directors/producers/screenwriters/other powerful industry insiders to change this, so a lot of potentially excellent minority actors/actresses remain in obscurity. Thus, you have the Will Smith-Denzel Washington issue today.

(Oh, and notice that Will Smith always brings in the box office gold for his ACTION movies. Whenever he's gone for a more serious role, those movies do the worst. Why is that?)

[Roscheblue]

So true...Will has not had an AA leading lady since Regina King in "Enemy of the State". I think that is shamefull.

[laughable]

Henry Lennix is the no-brainer, slam-dunk choice to play Obama in any biopic. I find it insulting and lazy (and I'm a white guy) that some people always consider the go-to people to play black leads to be either Will Smith or Denzel Washington. Good grief, there are many talented black actors out there, and Lennix is one of them. Also: he is a ringer for Obama.

[danadevin85]

your right about Harry Lennix
he's perfect similar look,voice and the height even though Lennix is a tad bit taller
than President Obama

he already plays a president in the Little Britian USA tv series on HBO

[DalKimball82]

Thank you for mentioning the talented and (super sexy IMHO) Harry Lennix!

So glad to know that I am not the only one who thought he would be great for the role of Barack Obama. Nothing against Will Smith but enough already and as much as I like and respect Mr. Washington and his work, I have to give a thumbs down to him as President Obama.

I like Regina King or Renee Goldsberry as Mrs. Obama.

[robXdion]

Renee Goldsberry??? nuh-huh. . . .that's pretty funny considering she hasn't acted opposite a black male in years. That paramount to suggesting Wesley Snipes play Marcus Garvey.

[shupikai400]

Just did a quick search on Henry Lennix and you know what people, you're right, he DOES resemble President Obama much more than Smith or Washington. Take a look yourself: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0502015/