All the times Denzel Washington did theatre

One of the most esteemed actors working today, the Oscar and Tony Award winner will star opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in the title role of Othello on Broadway.

Denzel Washington is developing a jealous streak. That’s the fundamental, tragic flaw of the actor's latest character: the title role in Shakespeare's classic play Othello on Broadway. He'll star opposite Jake Gyllenhaal, as the scheming Iago, in spring 2025.

During his acclaimed career, Washington has regularly ping-ponged between stage and screen, winning two Oscars (Glory, Training Day) and a Tony Award (Fences) for his efforts. The upcoming classic provides evidence of his passion for Shakespeare and devotion to theatre, which he studied in college and where he launched his career.

“I plan to go back [to theatre] every four years,” Washington has said. The hotly anticipated Othello isn’t so far off schedule. While we await the production’s premiere, learn more about Washington’s most celebrated stage credits.

Check back for information on Othello tickets on New York Theatre Guide.

Coriolanus

Washington’s career got off to a classic start. His first New York stage credit was The Public Theater’s 1979 Shakespeare in the Park production of Coriolanus. He multitasked in a number of small roles in the show, which starred Morgan Freeman as the title Roman general. The production was filmed and released later that year.

A Soldier’s Play

Washington played Private First Class Melvin Peterson in the 1981 Off-Broadway run of Charles Fuller’s World War II-era drama about a racially charged murder investigation on a military base. He reprised the role of Peterson in the 1984 film A Soldier’s Story, adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play.

Checkmates

In 1988, Washington made his Broadway debut in Ron Milner’s play about relationships that also starred Ruby Dee and Paul Winfield. “It’s depressing to watch Mr. Washington, whose past parts include Malcolm X […] get the evening’s biggest laughs by caricaturing homosexuals,” read The New York Times review.

The Tragedy of Richard III

Following his Oscar win for playing a defiant soldier in Glory, Washington starred in this 1990 Public Theater production at the Delacorte Theater. He called his role as the twisted and cold-blooded Richard Duke of Gloucester, who becomes king, “the biggest challenge I’ve had as an actor.” More challenges would follow.

Much Ado About Nothing

Washington spent much of the 1990s and early 2000 making movies, including Malcolm X, Philadelphia, The Hurricane, and Training Day, for which he won an Oscar as a corrupt cop. Also during this run, Washington’s passion for Shakespeare went beyond the stage to the big screen.

Sporting a wily smile and leather pants, he poured on the charm as Don Pedro, the Prince of Aragon, in this 1993 movie rom-com. Kenneth Branagh adapted and directed this film that also starred Emma Thompson, Michael Keaton, and Keanu Reeves.

Julius Caesar

In his 2005 return to Broadway, Washington played Brutus, a Roman senator torn between his loyalty to Caesar (portrayed by William Sadler) and his duty to Rome. There will be blood. Critical reception was lukewarm, but New York Theatre Guide's critic acknowledged Washington’s “charisma.”

Fences

Washington played Troy Maxson, a former baseball player-turned-garbage collector grappling with his lost dreams and fractured family relationships, in this 2010 revival of August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winner directed by Kenny Leon.

Washington, Viola Davis, as Troy’s long-suffering wife, and the production won Tony Awards. Washington later directed and starred in a 2016 film version, also opposite Davis, who won an Oscar for her performance.

A Raisin in the Sun

Washington starred in a 2014 revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s landmark 1959 work – the first play by a Black woman on Broadway – about an African-American family in Chicago. He played Walter Lee Younger, a man struggling with economic hardship and racial oppression. Variety’s critic called his performance “a personal triumph.”

The Iceman Cometh

In college, Washington acted in a different Eugene O’Neill work, The Emperor Jones. In 2018, he earned a Tony nomination for playing Theodore “Hickey” Hickman, a charismatic yet tormented salesman who serves harsh truths to his fellow barflies, on Broadway.

“Mr. Washington plays Hickey with gusto, glad-handing his pals,” New York Theatre Guide’s review read. Austin Butler, Reg Rogers, and Bill Irwin were among Washington's co-stars in director George C. Wolfe’s revival.

The Tragedy of Macbeth

Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, Washington’s credits reveal that he loves acting Shakespeare any day of the week. In the 2021 Macbeth film adaptation written and directed by Joel Coen, he played the ambitious Scottish general whose lust for power leads to madness and murder. Oscar and Tony winner Frances McDormand played shady Lady Macbeth.

Othello

Revisiting a tragic role he first tried on in college, Washington stars as the fatally jealous military commander Othello opposite Jake Gyllenhaal as the cunning Iago, who schemes to take Othello down. Further details, including who will play the doomed Desdemona in director Kenny Leon’s production, are to be announced.

Check back for information on Othello tickets on New York Theatre Guide.