Denzel Washington is opening up about his faith and how even a terrifying ordeal is impacting his ability to act in a positive way.
“I bit my tongue almost half-off a few months ago,” Washington, 70, told the Saturday, February 8 episode of “The Interview” podcast from The New York Times. “It’s affecting my speech. It forces me to slow down. I have to use it.”
Washington — who The New York Times named the greatest actor of the 21st century in 2020 — went on to explain how the medical mishap has impacted his upcoming role in Othello on Broadway alongside fellow actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
“I have a line: ‘Whither will you that I go to answer this your charge?’ It’s hard because my tongue is swollen,” he continued. “It has affected everything.”
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The Academy Award-winner also discussed how almost biting off his tongue served as a moment of reflection when it comes to his religious beliefs.
“That’s why you pray every day,” he explained. “I’m like, ‘OK, Lord, I’m here, I think this is what you wanted me to do.’ Now I’m not sure why [I bit my tongue], but one can say coincidence and serendipity and all those things.”
Washington didn’t clarify how he bit his tongue or if he received any medical treatment.
When asked if he believed his profession as an actor helped people, Washington again evoked his religious beliefs and how he sees the value of his work during what many perceive to be a difficult and tumultuous time.
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“At this point, everything I’m doing is through the lens of what God thinks, not what they think. I don’t know what they think,” he said. “You go down that hole, you’ll never come out of that. When people say, ‘What do you want people to get from this movie?’ or ‘What do you want them to get from this play?’ I always say, ‘It depends upon what they bring to it.’ There’s some interesting themes [in Othello] of jealousy and envy and pain and death.”
He continued, “And Kenny, the brilliant director, he’s putting it in what he calls the near future. So all of those things — jealousy, envy — it takes on a whole new thing with the information age.”
In addition to relying on his faith when acting, Washington also touched on what it was like to act alongside Gyllenhall — who he called “complicated.”
“He’s nuts. I love him,” he said. “He’s complicated. But he’s already got a handle on it. I’m not worried about that, because I don’t like to learn the lines too soon. I was telling a young actor who asked, ‘Why don’t you like to learn them too soon?’ I said: ‘Because then I’m the voice I’m listening to delivering the cues to myself. I want to hear it from you, and that’s going to affect how I say what I say.’ For me, that works.”
