Denzel Washingtonis still searching for his thirdOscarwin, and one of his best partnerships can help him if the Academy stops ignoring them. Heading into the 2025 Oscars season, there was a firm belief that Denzel Washington would be a major factor. His performance as Macrinus in Ridley Scott’sGladiator IIwas viewed as one of the sequel’s best components. Since the originalGladiatorwas a huge Oscar performer, there was an expectation that the sequel would get some attention, including anomination for Denzel. That ultimately did not happen.
TheOscars 2025 nominationscame and went without Denzel Washington’s name being called. He was left out of Best Supporting Actor even after getting nominations earlier in the awards season. WithGladiator IIand Denzel’s Ridley Scott reunion failing to get him the Oscars attention he deserves, his hopes of winning another golden statue now rely on upcoming projects. This includes his new movie with Spike Lee. While that partnership would suggest Oscar glory on paper, the reality is a bit bleaker as Denzel Washington seeks another nomination and hopeful win.
Denzel Washington Hasn’t Won An Oscar In 23 Years
There is an overall oddity to Denzel Washington’s struggles to get a third Oscar win. He won his first two over a 12-year span; he won Best Supporting Actor forGloryin 1990 and Best Actor forTraining Dayin 2002. Denzel secured four nominations during this stretch, winning half of them. That’s a pretty great track record with the Academy, but he fell off in a major way afterward. It’s been 23 years since Denzel Washington won an Oscar. That’s a staggering statistic, consideringhe won his two Oscars during the first 25 years of his acting career.
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The lack of another Denzel Washington Oscar win is also confusing since he’s had opportunities to win. He received Best Actor nominations forFlight,Fences,Roman J. Israel, Esq., andThe Tragedy of Macbeth. Those four nominations came in less than a decade.Gladiator IIwould have given Denzel five nominations in only 12 years. That’s almost identical to the actor receiving his first five Oscar nominations in 14 years. The major difference, though, is that Denzel won two Oscars during that earlier run and hasn’t been victorious as of late.
While Denzel was unlikely to win the Oscar for each of his last four nominations, there is an argument to be made he should have in some years. The fact that he keeps falling short or being ignored from nominations suggeststhe Academy is waiting for a truly special performance and film to give him this recognition again. After all, onlyseven actors have three Oscar wins or more. Denzel had a chance to join them withGladiator IIor any of these previously nominated performances but failed to do so. Now, it’s up to Spike Lee to help him.
Denzel Washington’s Next Chance For An Oscar Is Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest
Denzel Washington & Spike Lee Reunite For Their Fifth Movie
Denzel Washington only has a few movies already in development. While those titles include a Hannibal movie with Antoine Fuqua and a role inBlack Panther 3, the next project for him is Spike Lee’sHighest 2 Lowest. The film isa remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 filmHigh & Low. Filming for Lee and Washington’s reimagining finished in mid 2024, with A24 planning to give the movie a 2025 theatrical release. That positionsHighest 2 Lowestas the next movie Denzel Washington will be in.
Every Upcoming Denzel Washington Movie
Denzel Washington has been called the best actor of the 21st century so far, and has generated a lot of excitement for his upcoming roles.
As a result, the nextDenzel Washington and Spike Lee movieis the actor’s next chance to get an Oscar nomination. It’s far too early to truly know what the 2026 Oscars lineup will look like, but there’s always a chance for an actor of Denzel’s caliber to enter the equation. That should be especially true when he’s working with a director like Spike Lee. It could also be to Denzel’s benefit thatHighest 2 Lowestputs him back in the lead role, as he’s only been an Oscar nominee in Best Actor since winning Best Supporting Actor in 1990.
Denzel Washington Has Only Received 1 Oscar Nomination Working With Spike Lee
Spike Lee’s Movies Don’t Typically Become Serious Oscars Contenders
Highest 2 Lowestwill be the fifth time that the star and director work together, but that partnership has only brought Denzel Washington any Oscars recognition once before.Malcolm Xis the only Spike Lee movie for which Denzel received an Oscar nomination. Despite the brilliance of his performance, he did not win Best Actor that year, losing to Al Pacino inScent of a Woman. Their three other movies together -Mo' Better Blues,He Got Game, andThe Inside Man- were completely ignored by the Oscars.Malcolm Xonly had one other Oscar nomination beyond Denzel’s performance.
The reality is thatmost of Spike Lee’s movies do not get Oscars recognition. His last movie,Da 5 Bloods, only got one Oscar nomination despite being viewed as a strong contender in several categories.BlacKkKlansmanearned six Oscar nominations, the most ever for one of Spike Lee’s movies. He even won an Oscar for his screenplay. Otherwise,Do the Right Thinggot two Oscar nominations, but none of his other movies got recognition. That helps put into perspective that Denzel’s Oscar nomination forMalcolm Xis quite impressive based on the Academy’s history with Spike Lee movies.
Highest 2 Lowest Has An Uphill Climb To Get Denzel Washington His Third Oscar
Will Denzel Washington Win An Oscar In 2026?
All this suggestsHighest 2 Lowestis not the surefire bet to get Denzel Washington an Oscar nomination or win that it could be. Oscars history is against Denzel in this regard.He’s already only one of three actors who have received acting Oscar nominations for a Spike Lee movie. The other two are Adam Driver forBlacKkKlansmanand Danny Aiello forDo The Right Thing. The kicker is that none of them have won. Denzel Washington could still become the first actor to receive two Oscar nominations from Spike Lee movies, but his odds of winning are greatly diminished.
The other factor againstHighest 2 Lowestcould be the specific genre. The movie is expected to be more of a crime thriller, similar to Lee’sInside Man, which was completely ignored by the Oscars. This isn’t necessarily an Oscars-bait drama, although Spike Lee will surely infuse it with some social commentary. If he does it well enough and makesHighest 2 Lowesta similarly popular and acclaimed film likeBlacKkKlansman, then perhaps Denzel’s odds of a nomination will increase.
The best argument to be made for Denzel Washington winning his third Oscar withHighest 2 Lowestis the possibility of it being one of his last Oscar-caliber films. He’s gotBlack Panther 3and two moreThe Equalizersequels in the works, as well as another historical epic. With the actor constantly teasing his eventual retirement, there’s a limited number of opportunities for the Academy to recognize him once more. If his retirement becomes more imminent followingHighest 2 Lowest’s release, that could helpDenzel Washingtonwin anOscaronce more.
