Josh Brolin and Denzel Washington almost got into a fight on the set of ‘American Gangster’.
Josh Brolin and Denzel Washington almost got into a fight on American Gangster set
Although the pair now have a cordial relationship, Josh, 56, admitted that there was some tension between them on the set of the 2007 movie.
Speaking on ‘In Depth with Graham Bensinger’, he explained: “Denzel and I, by the way, get along very well now. We almost got into a fight.
“Denzel was a little late to set and there was a whole thing there. And then he showed me the lines … he didn’t change any of my lines, but he kind of changed the structure of it. He said, ‘I think I’m gonna put this down here and I’m gonna put that up there.’ But he wouldn’t really look at me.
“So I was trying to remember the structure, and then we rehearsed. It wasn’t that many lines, mostly mine. And I’m supposed to be super confident. It’s Denzel Washington, man. It’s, like, not easy. You’re just this actor who they’re trying out, seeing if he’s the real thing or not. And I forgot a line.
“And I put my hand on his shoulder and I said, ‘What’s the line?’ and he hits my hand off and he said, ‘Don’t ever f****** put your hand on me’. And I was like, ‘Holy s***, I’m gonna scrap with Denzel Washington. This is crazy.’ We’re not actors anymore … at least in my mind. In his mind he was just doing his job.”
Brolin explained that Denzel, 69, was method acting on set, saying: “He was that guy. He was Frank Lucas, period. But I didn’t know.
“And then we got through that moment. I said, ‘Are you okay?’ He said, ‘Yeah. You?’ I said, ‘Yeah. Can I get my line?’ He said, ‘Go for it.’ It’s like he’d said what he needed to say.”