Denzel Washington’s return to Broadway for “Othello” is warranted to gather him some street attention as he walks to the theater near Time Square. His recent reaction to one frustrated actress-hopeful will make you smile.
In the video posted on Tiktok, a woman is seen recording Washington as he walked into the backdoor of the theater where he’s set to star in William Shakespeare’s “Othello” with actor Jake Gyllenhaal beginning March 23. From behind the camera, the woman complained about how hard it is for aspiring actors to get work these days. It appeared as though she was asking for Washington to weigh in on the matter.
“- for actors who are fighting out here to get work, anything?” she asked from behind the camera.
Washington responded, “Come inside here,” as he walked in the theater door and rested his bags on the ground. Audibly shocked, the woman complied and followed behind him. “Oh my God!” she gasped in disbelief. Washington then ordered her to put her phone down.
We don’t know what happened in the moments the camera turned off but it was obvious Washington told the woman what she needed to hear. In the next clip, Washington is seen standing beside the woman with his arm around her shoulder. Washington appeared to ask her ethnicity to which she responded Trinidadian. Then, tears began to swell in her eyes from excitement.
“Why you cryin’ girl?” Washington asked her.
“Because...” the woman said but, overwhelmed with emotion, couldn’t complete her sentence before wrapping her arms around Washington for a tight embrace.
“I’m regular people just like you,” Washington said before the video cut off.
As if we needed a reminder of how humble the Oscar-studded acting veteran is, he reminded us with this simple gesture of taking time to encourage an aspiring actress. The acting field can be brutal but the one person who knows that better than anyone is Denzel Washington.