Denzel Washington and Al Pacino Headed for OTHELLO?

Are Al Pacino and Denzel Washington gearing up to headline a new production of OTHELLO?

Pacino has been in talks for years to play Iago in OTHELLO, including in 1999 with the late producer Alexander H. Cohen, who told the New York Times that year that he was unable to work out a schedule with the actor. "From my vantage point, it has been a giant waste of time," he said.

More than a decade later, Pacino spoke to the Times during his 2010 run in The Merchant of Venice. "I once talked to Denzel Washington about doing Othello. I turned down Iago in the past because I thought there was a banality to Iago. Time has passed, and I have read the play again and again and found a way in," he said. "Now I want to do it."

Today, The Daily Telegraph indicated that negotiations may be back in motion, saying in an interview with Washington that the actor "is showing no signs of slowing down, with talk of him starring in Othello with Al Pacino."

Washington recently returned to Broadway for Fences, winning a 2010 Tony Award. He made his Broadway debut in Checkmates (1988). Other theatre credits include Richard III, The Mighty Gents, Ceremonies in Dark Old Men, When the Chickens Come Home to Roost and A Soldier's Play, for which he won an Obie. He is a two-time Academy Award winner for his performances in Training Day and Glory, and received Oscar nominations for his performances in The Hurricane, Malcolm X and Cry Freedom. 

In addition to The Merchant of Venice, Pacino's stage credits include: Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, and Richard III. He is most famed for playing mobsters including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy and Tony Montana in Scarface, though he has also appeared several times on the other side of the law-as a police officer, detective and a lawyer. His role as Frank Slade in Scent of a Woman won him the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1992 after receiving seven previous Oscar nominations.

Read the Telegraph article here.

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