Denzel Washington Aims to Star in KING LEAR in 2023

According to Baz Bamigboye of The Daily Mail, Academy Award and Tony-winning actor Denzel Washington has revealed that he hopes to take on the role of Shakespeare's King Lear as his next project.

Washington, who is currently earning raves as another of The Bard's leading men in Joel Coen's Macbeth, is aiming to perform the role onstage with a film to follow.

King Lear is Shakespeare's monumental look at an aging monarch, full of hubris and on the precipice of senility, as he divides his kingdom among his three daughters. In turn, they break his heart, resulting in a loss of country, loss of family, loss of self, and loss of sanity.

Denzel Washington is the most lauded stage and screen actor of his generation. His unforgettable performances have garnered him two Academy Awards, a Tony Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and countless other awards. He received his first Academy Award for the historical war drama Glory (1989) and his second for the crime drama Training Day (2001). In addition, he has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Cry Freedom (1987), Malcolm X (1992), The Hurricane (1999), Flight (2012), and August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Fences, in which he reprised his Tony Award-winning role opposite Viola Davis. The film was nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role for Mr. Washington. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017).

Most recently Mr. Washington portrayed the role of Deputy Sheriff Joe "Deke" Deacon in The Little Things (2021). Other notable credits include A Soldier's Story (1984), Much Ado About Nothing (1993), Crimson Tide (1995), Devil in a Blue Dress (1995), Remember the Titans (2000), Inside Man (2006), The Great Debaters (2007), and American Gangster (2007). Mr. Washington's professional acting career began in New York, where he performed in theatre productions such as Ceremonies in Dark Old Men and Othello. He rose to fame when he landed the role of Dr. Phillip Chandler in the NBC long-running hit television series "St. Elsewhere." His other credits include the television movies "The George McKenna Story," "License to Kill," and "Wilma." In 2016, he was selected as the recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the 73rd Golden Globe Awards.

Apple Original Films presents an A24 and IAC Films production, "The Tragedy of Macbeth," based on the play by William Shakespeare and written for the screen and directed by Joel Coen. The film stars Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling and Brendan Gleeson, is currently streaming on Apple TV+.

The producers are Joel Coen, Frances McDormand and Robert Graf. The film features casting by Ellen Chenoweth, music by Carter Burwell, costumes by Mary Zophres, editing by Lucian Johnston and Reginald Jaynes, production design by Stefan Dechant and cinematography by Bruno Delbonnel.