John David Washington is Christopher Nolan's leading man in "Tenet," but the 36-year-old has had a most unconventional start to his acting career.- At the age of six, John David made his first on-screen performance in
Spike Lee 's 1992 film, "Malcolm X," alongside his father, Denzel, who won acclaim for his portrayal of the civil rights leader. - However, it would take almost two decades, and a short stint in the
NFL , until John David would pick up his next acting credit.
You may know John David Washington, son of Hollywood legend Denzel, from the HBO comedy-drama "Ballers," or from his role as Ron Stallworth in Spike Lee's Oscar-winning crime drama "Blackkklansman." And this summer, John David is Christopher Nolan's leading man in "Tenet," the first blockbuster to be released since the pandemic forced Theatre's to close their doors.
However, just five years ago, John David was nowhere near a film set – instead, he was suiting up with the St Louis Rams. Washington's story is a remarkable one. He is now, just like his father, one of Hollywood's most sought after leading men, but little is known about his rapid and unconventional rise.
Here's how John David Washington made it from the
His first on-screen performance was in Spike Lee's 'Malcolm X'
In 1992, a six-year-old John David Washington had a short cameo in Spike Lee's epic portrait of the civil rights leader, Malcolm X – a film that shot his father, Denzel, into the Hollywood stratosphere, earning him his first Oscar nomination in a leading role.
John David is one of the Harlem school children who shout, "I'm Malcolm X" at the end of the film. Explaining his decision to draft in Washington Jr, Spike Lee said he didn't need to be "Einstein" to see that it was a good idea. "That's a good film to have as a first film on your resume," Lee said during an interview with Esquire.
Recalling the experience in an interview with The Times of London, John David said that he was so excited to say his lines that Spike Lee had to continually ask him not to overdo it. "He kept calming me down. 'Just get up, look at the camera, say the line.' It took about seven takes," he said.
Despite catching the acting bug early, something John David chalks up to his father's performance in the 1989 civil war drama, "Glory," (he says he could recite every line of the film), it would be over two decades until John David's next on-screen performance.
Aiming to forge his own path, John David traded in the film set for the football field
He attended Morehouse College, an HBCU (whose alumni include Spike Lee, Samuel L Jackson, and Dr Martin Luther King), on an athletic scholarship. As the school's running back, John David would rack up numerous awards and still holds the school's all-time record for rushing yards.
All those yards quickly garnered professional attention; and in 2006, John David was drafted by the St Louis Rams. This was followed by spells at the Sacramento Mountain Lions in the United Football League, and some time in Europe with the German outfit, Rhein Fire.
He did briefly step back into the family biz. After impressing Allen Hughes, co-director of 2010's "The Book of Eli" on a visit to the set with his father, who was the film's lead, John David was asked to "join the project." He is listed as a co-producer on IMDb.
After suffering a serious Achilles injury right before a try-out with the New York Giants in 2013, John David returned to his childhood dream of acting. And then came his first big gig …
… As a fictional football player on the HBO sports comedy, 'Ballers'
The ex-running back rather fittingly starred alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson in the sports comedy about a financial manager who advises professional football players.
John David kept his new career plans a secret from his father, he said in an interview with Mr Porter, who only knew he was pursuing acting when he landed the role. Denzel's advice was apparently: Work extremely hard.
"It doesn't even guarantee you will make it, but if you don't, you can almost guarantee that you won't."
"Ballers" ran from 2015 to 2019, and John David won plaudits for his performance as Ricky Jerret, a controversial but talented wide receiver. It was also the first time that Christopher Nolan, the writer-director of mega box office hits such as "Inception," "Interstellar," and "The Dark Knight trilogy," saw John David on-screen ...
John David used to hide his identity by telling people his father was in jail
"I used to lie, saying he was a construction worker or in jail, just to have some sense of normalcy," he said during an interview with Mr Porter.
The 36-year-old said that he saw "how people changed" when they found out who his father was, and he felt like "there was no way people would take me seriously," even if he was a talented actor. "They would always judge me. So I hid who my father was. I guess I was protecting myself," he said.
After 'Ballers,' John David made a handful of acclaimed performances in smaller, independent films
The most notable of John David's smaller appearances was "Monsters and Men," a timely and politically charged police drama, which took home the Jury Award for Outstanding First Feature film at the Sundance film festival.
And "The Old Man & the Gun," where John David starred alongside Hollywood legend, and Sundance film festival founder Robert Redford in his last screen performance. It was while on location filming "The Old Man & the Gun" that John David received a text message: "Yo, this is Spike, call me."
Spike Lee offered John David the lead role in his new explosive crime drama 'Blackkklansman '
The 36-year-old actor took on the role of Ron Stallworth, the first Africa American detective in the Colorado Springs police department who, in the early 1970s, went undercover with his white partner — played by Adam Driver — to infiltrate the Klu Klux Klan.
The film won a ton of acclaim and awards. Spike Lee received his first competitive Oscar (Best adapted screenplay), and John David earned his first acting nomination at the Golden Globes. The film received a six-minute standing ovation after its world premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, where it also picked up the second place "Grand Prix" prize.
"I didn't expect that at all," John David told The Times. "I held it together until I got in the car, then I cried like a baby. I'd never had that kind of triumph, not even in football. I think the tears represented what I wanted my whole life. I felt that I was being recognized as John David the artist, not the son."
One of the revelers on the Croisette that night was Christopher Nolan. The Dark Knight writer-director was sitting directly in front of Lee during the premiere, and he was so impressed by John David's performance that he decided to cast him in his next mega-budget film, the continent-hopping blockbuster, "
"It very much sort of felt like destiny to me," Nolan told Esquire. "That was an extraordinary screening, and the audience response to Spike's movie was really electric in that room at Cannes; it was quite something."
'Tenet'
"Tenet" is undoubtedly Washington's biggest role to date with director Christopher Nolan pushing all the narrative as well as temporal boundaries to create a spy thriller like no other.
Speaking with ET Canada, Washington said that it took him over four hours to read Nolan's time-bending script at which point he thought he understood the film's narrative arch. But he says that soon after they began production he realized there much more working than he thought.
"It took some time to catch up to Christopher Nolan and catch up to the concept of it," he said. "But once I did I felt very confident and comfortable."
John David's previous experience as a professional athlete, Nolan explains, was one of the key elements in his casting. The director told Esquire: "The film has more action than any film I've ever done. It has a plethora of action sequences that he's taken the lead in."
However, this hasn't been ideal for Washington's co-star, Robert Pattinson, who told the Irish Times that he could hardly keep up with John David during physically demanding scenes. "The maximum workout I do most of the time is a casual stroll. John David can run all day long," he said. "It was the most unfair thing in the world."
The pair star alongside Elizabeth Debicki, and Nolan favorites Kenneth Branagh and Michael Caine. Due to the pandemic, "Tenet's" release date was postponed several times but the film is now open in 70 countries across the world including the UK, Canada, and France, and will finally make its way to select US theatres in September.
Beyond 'Tenet'
—Zendaya (@Zendaya) July 8, 2020
It was announced last month that John David has filmed an entire film during lockdown alongside actress Zendaya.
"Malcolm & Marie" written and directed by Sam Levinson — the creator of HBO teen drama, "Euphoria." No real details have been given about the movie's plot, but Deadline has reported the production's extensive safety precautions, which included the entire cast and crew being quarantined during the production, as well as two weeks before and after, and regular daily temperature checks.
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John David Washington used to tell people his father was in jail so they'd take his acting seriously