Denzel Washington on Money, Legacy & Spike Lee’s New Film

Denzel Washington has always been selective with his projects, but even he admits that not every role he accepted was purely for art. Sometimes, he says, it was simply about survival.

“My mother always told me, ‘Do what you have to do so that you can do what you want to do,’” Washington recalled in a recent interview. “When you’ve got four children, a wife, and bills to pay, you make choices. Back in the mid-’90s, I had to take on films that helped keep everything running at home.”

While he didn’t single out which projects he considered “money jobs,” Washington was quick to acknowledge that during that period, family came first. He jokingly admitted to co-star Jeffrey Wright that the work wasn’t just “for the kids,” but also “for the wife, the house, and the bank.”

Looking at his filmography, that era still holds undeniable classics such as Philadelphia, Crimson Tide, and The Pelican Brief. And in the same decade, Washington delivered unforgettable performances in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X (1992) and He Got Game (1998). So while he may downplay some of those projects, audiences were hardly shortchanged.

Today, Washington’s children—John David, Olivia, Malcolm, and Katia—are thriving in film and television themselves. He sees those so-called “money jobs” as having created opportunities for them too.

Reuniting With Spike Lee

Washington’s latest project, Highest 2 Lowest, marks his fifth collaboration with Spike Lee. The film is a reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 classic High and Low, which itself was adapted from Evan Hunter’s novel King’s Ransom. Washington plays David King, a record executive whose life is turned upside down when kidnappers mistakenly abduct his chauffeur’s son instead of his own.

The story forces King to confront a difficult moral dilemma: should he pay the ransom, even if it means sacrificing the business deal that would secure his company’s future? The tension grows sharper because the life at risk isn’t his child’s, but someone else’s.

In Lee’s hands, the story shifts from Japanese corporate culture to the cutthroat New York music industry. Alongside Washington, the cast includes Jeffrey Wright as the chauffeur and rapper A$AP Rocky as the kidnapper.

Art, Commerce, and the Digital Age

The role of David King also mirrors some of the real-life debates facing today’s entertainment world. King rails against artificial intelligence and the rise of soulless, algorithm-driven music. He questions whether technology is enhancing culture or hollowing it out.

Jeffrey Wright added his own concerns, noting, “Technology was supposed to bring us harmony and wisdom. But instead, it’s made things more chaotic and addictive. It’s worth asking where all this is taking us.”

Washington himself, however, doesn’t seem burdened by those fears. “I don’t depend on social media or technology for my peace,” he explained. “I don’t need to be everywhere or known everywhere. Quiet suits me just fine.”

He has little interest in Instagram fame or online exposure. “If you see an Instagram account with my name on it, it’s not me. You’ve been tricked,” he laughed.

The Zen of Denzel

Now in what he calls a calmer, more spiritual phase of life—having been baptized and trained as a minister—Washington seems at peace with his career and legacy. “If people can see you for free all week, why would they pay to see you on the weekend?” he mused, offering a piece of advice he once shared with younger actors like Michael B. Jordan.

For Washington, the work now is about passion and meaning, not necessity. Highest 2 Lowest will arrive in U.S. theaters on August 15 before streaming on Apple TV+, once again proving that even when balancing commerce and art, Washington knows how to leave his mark.