<p id=”par-1_39″><a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/actors/”>Actor</a> Denzel Washington has starred in several critically acclaimed and <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/denzel-washingtons-highest-grossing-film-reaction-unlike-anything-done.html/”>high-grossing movies</a>. But not every movie in his filmography could be a smash hit. In fact, he did a few bad films after listening to his son John David.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-john-david-washington-balanced-out-denzel-washington-s-awful-films-by-recommending-two-of-his-father-s-best-movies”>John David Washington balanced out Denzel Washington’s awful films by recommending two of his father’s best movies</h2>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/son-Denzel-Washington.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=’John David Washington talking to his father Denzel Washington at the Netflix Special Screening of “The Piano Lesson”.’ class=”wp-image-3778605″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>John David Washington and Denzel Washington | Dave Benett/Getty Images </figcaption></figure>
<p id=”par-2_37″>Having children affected Washington’s work in more ways than one. In an interview with <a href=”https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/magazine/denzel-washington-interview.html”>The New York Times</a>, the Oscar-winner briefly touched on how he had to consider his children’s situation when considering what films to do.</p>
<p id=”par-3_29″><strong>“</strong>Yeah, it changed my perspective. Like, shoot, they’ve got to go where to school? It costs how much? How much do clothes cost? Yeah, it changed everything,” he said.</p>
<p id=”par-4_61″>But there were a few times when one of Washington’s kids helped him decide what film to star in more directly. John David, who’s become quite a successful actor himself, took an interest in his father’s craft at a young age. So much so Washington admitted that John David <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/denzel-washingtons-son-convinced-play-couple-few-bad-guy-roles.html/”>convinced him to play bad guys</a> in some of Washington’s earlier features.</p>
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<p id=”par-5_65″>But on the flip side, there were other films Washington did because of John David that he might’ve been better off without. Speaking with <a href=”https://parade.com/27900/jeannewolf/0112-denzel-washington-book-of-eli/”>Parade</a>, Washington revealed that he collaborated with John David for T<em>he Book of Eli</em>. It was <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/tenet-star-john-david-washington-started-his-career-working-on-3-movies-with-father-denzel.html/”>one of three movies</a> John David did with Washington to start his career. But John David’s recommendations didn’t always turn out well for his father.</p>
<p id=”par-6_57″>“My son, who is a very spiritual young man and also a co-producer, said, ‘Dad, you gotta really think about this one.’ Two other films he convinced me to do were awful, but that was balanced when he steered me <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/denzel-washington-most-iconic-training-day-moment.html/”>to <em>Training Day</em></a> and <em>American Gangster</em>. I guess he was a little less spiritual then,” he said.</p>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-john-david-washington-considered-his-father-the-greatest-actor-in-the-industry”>John David Washington considered his father the greatest actor in the industry</h2>
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<div class=”related-article related-article–simple”>
<span class=”related-article-flag”>Related</span>
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Denzel Washington’s Response to Which Actor Is the ‘Next Denzel’ in Hollywood </a>
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<p id=”par-7_64″>John David would later prove he was much more than just <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/denzel-washingtons-son-john-david-washington-is-much-more-than-just-the-kid-of-a-celebrity.html/”>the kid of a celebrity</a>. Following in his father’s footsteps, he would develop a respectable acting career himself. But John David confided that he didn’t expect to surpass Washington’s own legacy. Despite starring in a few critically acclaimed projects himself like <em>Tenet </em>and <em>BlackKklansman</em>, he felt his father’s shadow was just too big.</p>
<p id=”par-8_31″>“I don’t see it as a reality for me,” he once said on <em><a href=”https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-david-washington-august-wilson-the-piano-lesson/”>CBS Sunday Morning</a></em>. “He’s larger than life. So no, I don’t think of it that way. I can’t.”</p>
<p id=”par-9_25″>The fact that John David saw his father as the best actor in the film industry might’ve made Washington’s shoes even more daunting to fill.</p>
<p id=”par-10_83″> “I think the best actor in the industry, in the business, is my father,” he once said in an interview with <a href=”https://people.com/movies/john-david-washington-on-following-in-father-denzels-footsteps/”>People</a>. “I’m inspired by the kind of career he’s had and what he’s had to do. Again, he’s been on the frontline for many years and what he’s done with it, with his opportunities, I just am so inspired and continue to be inspired by what he does and how he works and his approach to the craft and the business.”</p>
<p id=”par-11_28″>Additionally, John David once also shared what his favorite Washington performance was. It wasn’t in a movie that his father did, however. Instead, it was in a play.</p>
<p id=”par-12_117″>“Richard III. I saw my father on stage for the first time,” John David said on <a href=”https://link.chtbl.com/JohnDavidWashington?sid=CinemaBlend”><em>American Masters: Creative </em>Spark</a>. “I was a kid. It was like a magic trick because he didn’t talk like that at the house. And then he just got on stage and transformed into another being with these words. I remember he would walk me around the city when he was doing it and cite the lines, and I always used to giggle. He said I used to love the lines. ‘Now is the winter of our discontent.’ I never knew what that meant, but I just knew those words, and I thought it was so cool. I just thought it was magical.”</p>