On Apple TV+ since January 14, The Tragedy of Macbeth is Joel Coen’s first film without his brother Ethan. On this occasion, Denzel Washington tells us about this new adaptation of Shakespeare.
What is it about ?
A Scottish lord is convinced by a trio of witches that he will become the next King of Scotland, and his ambitious wife backs him in his plans to seize power.
The Tragedy of Macbeth, a film written and directed by Joel Coen after William Shakespeare with Denzel Washington, Frances McDormand, Alex Hassell…
In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Denzel Washington plays the title role and Frances McDormand plays his wife, Lady Macbeth. In front of Joel Coen’s camera, he delivers a powerful interpretation of this power-obsessed lord.
DashFUN: Denzel, you seem to have a passion for Shakespeare. You had already played in Much Ado About Nothing by Kenneth Branagh. Where does this fascination for this writer come from?
My passion for Shakespeare comes to me from high school when I was doing theatre. The second big role I landed was for othello. I therefore discovered Shakespeare at a very young age and, since then, I have always been fascinated by this writer and his universe. What is incredible with Shakespeare is that his work crosses all eras and is always relevant.
Macbeth is about ambition, about the quest for power. How do you stay down to earth?
I watch my ego. I know how to keep my head on my shoulders. How do I not let my ego take over? It’s my marriage that saves me from myself! (laughs) My wife knows how to bring me back to earth when I start to “take off”.
To prepare for this movie, did you watch any other Macbeth stagings?
Not at all. I haven’t seen any other film before immersing myself in this masterful interpretation, thanks to the talent of Joel Coen. I didn’t want any influence on my approach to the character, so I’m glad I didn’t see anything else on Macbeth.
Joel is truly a genius and I learned so much from him, as an actor, as a director. He really puts you at ease despite the difficulty of playing Shakespeare. Joel, like Jonathan Demme who I’ve also worked with, gives you an incredible level of confidence, you feel like you can do the impossible with them.
Especially since the biggest challenge with Shakespeare is to learn these long tirades and pronounce them correctly. It is not at all easy to remember this text so dense, so rich.
Basically, what is this film about for you? What are the main themes?
For me it’s the story of a man who sold his soul to the devil. This is the essence of Macbeth, he knowingly sold his soul to the devil. That’s my humble opinion anyway.
Films today include all different cultures and feature a cast from diverse backgrounds. What do you think?
What is certain is that, as a black actor, there are many roles that I can play today that I could not have played when I started in this medium. 20 years ago I could have played Macbeth’s “friend” but not Macbeth, whereas today it is no longer a problem. So yeah, I’m glad the world has changed and we’re giving everyone a chance regardless of their ethnicity.
