Denzel Washington’s impeccable Method acting nearly led to a fight between himself andJosh Brolinon the set ofAmerican Gangster. Washington is well-known for using “The Method,” which was developed by Stanislavski, but Brolin was unaware his co-star was in character while they ran lines on set. Brolin prefaced his story by explaining,“Denzel and I, by the way, get along very well now,”and then the actor said (perIn Depth With Graham Bensinger):
“Yeah, we almost got into a fight […] Denzel was a little late to set, and there was a whole thing there […] I was trying to remember the structure, and then we rehearsed. It wasn’t that many lines, mostly mine. And I’m supposed to be SUPER confident. It’s Denzel Washington, man. It’s, like, not easy. You’re just some actor who they’re trying out, seeing if he’s the real thing or not, and I forgot a line.”
In addition to Washington and Brolin, director Ridley Scott’sAmerican Gangsterfeatured an all-star cast, including Russell Crowe, Cuba Gooding Jr., Armand Assante, Idris Elba, Norman Reedus, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ted Levine, and Carla Gugino. However, it was Brolin who had to acclimate to Washington’s use of Method acting — and quickly. Brolin continued the story by saying:
“I put my hand on his shoulder, and I said, ‘What’s the line?’ And he hit my hand off. And he said, ‘Don’t ever fu—ing put your hand on me.’ And I was like, ‘Holy sh*t, I’m gonna scrap with Denzel Washington. This is crazy.’ We’re not actors anymore — at least in my mind. In his mind, he was just doing his job.
He was that guy, he was Frank Lucas, period! But I didn’t know. And then we got through that moment. And I said, ‘Are you okay?’ He said, ‘Yeah, you?’ I said, ‘Yeah. Can I get my line?’ He said, ‘Go for it.’ It’s like he’d said what he needed to say.”
Josh Brolin’s Acting Legacy Since ‘American Gangster’
Josh Brolin eventually realized that Denzel Washington was simply in character when he called out the young actor on the set ofAmerican Gangster. And that notion really set in for Brolin when he bumped into Washington a year later — and Denzel was so happy to see him when they reunited. And while he’d been working steadily for over 20 years, some ofBrolin’s best movieshappened after his great performance as Detective Trupo inAmerican Gangster.
Later that same year, Brolin starred in the Coen Brothers Academy Award-winning neo-Western,No Country for Old Men. The film went on to win four Oscars against eight nominations, although Brolin would have to wait until he portrayed Dan White in the Sean Penn-ledMilk(2008) before he earned his first and only Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actor).
Thanos Actor Josh Brolin Shares Favorite Avengers Memory: ‘What’s My Line?’
Josh Brolin’s favorite memory from Avengers: Endgame might surprise fans.
Brolin gave standout performances in the movies which followed, including the must-seesTru Grit,theSicariosaga,Deadpool 2, along withDuneandDune: Part Two. However, Brolin will forever be remembered as the Mad Titan Thanos inMarvel’s box office blockbusters, most notablyAvengers: Infinity WarandAvengers: Endgame.
But this A-list actor isn’t letting himself be stereotyped as a super-villain, or pigeonholed into superhero movies. Today, Brolin stars in theOuter Rangeseries, and he can be seen in the recent action-comedyBrothers,co-starring Peter Dinklage, which is also available on Prime Video. And for those who haven’t seen Brolin and Washington’s classic,American Gangsteris currently available onNetflix.
American Gangster
