Denzel Washington Says He ‘Made Some Real Clunkers’ in the ’90s After Malcolm X: ‘I Was Earning. I Had Responsibilities’

Denzel Washington is admitting that his filmography isn’t perfect. 

Ahead of the release of Gladiator II, the 69-year-old actor discussed his career in an interview with The Sunday Times, published on Friday, Nov. 15, and noted that not all of his movies were hits.  

“After Malcolm X I made some real clunkers. Look them up — I won’t say their names,” he told the outlet. “They are all in the 1990s. But I was earning. I had responsibilities.”

Some films the two-time Oscar winner starred in during that decade included Much Ado About Nothing, The Pelican Brief, Virtuosity, Crimson Tide, Devil in a Blue Dress,The Preacher’s Wife, Fallen, He Got Game and The Bone Collector, among other movies. 

However, he said that his films in the 2000s, which included Remember the Titans and Training Day, fared a lot better. He also noted that it all corresponded to a quote he lived by: “In life, you learn, earn and then you return — as in give back.” 

“So in that era I was earning,” he explained. “With a great agent, my career built into making money and so the earning kicked in and then life also kicked in, with bills, four kids and a house.”

The Equalizer actor also revealed that he is “guilty” of not watching his films the whole way through, similar to Judi Dench. He admitted that he does “watch” some parts of the films “so I know what I’m talking about,” but leaves the rest unfinished.

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"I haven’t watched any film from my past from start to finish, not even Malcolm X,” Washington said. “All you see is what you did wrong. Also why would you do it anyway?”

Earlier this week, Washington shared on Australia's Today show that his acting career has taken a new focus now that he’s growing older and that he is ​​”only interested in working with the best moving forward.”

"I don't know how many more films I'm going to make. Probably not that many. I want to do things I haven't done. I played Othello at 22; I'm about to play Othello at 70," he said, referencing his upcoming Broadway run in Shakespeare's Othello with Jake Gyllenhaal. 

"After that, I'm playing Hannibal. After that, I've been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler is writing a part for me in the next Black Panther," he added.

Gladiator II releases in theaters on Nov. 22.