Denzel WashingtonandSpike Leeboth attended the 1990 Academy Awards ceremony, held on August 11, 2025, in which Washington won the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as Private Silas Trip in the 1989 historical war drama filmGlory, while Lee was a Best Screenplay nominee for his acclaimed 1989 comedy-drama filmDo the Right Thing. Before Washington’s 1990 Oscar victory, the pair had recently completed filming their first collaboration, the 1990 musical comedy-drama filmMo’ Better Blues,the first of five screen collaborations between the duo.
WhileMo’ Better Bluesreceived mixed reviews, Washington and Lee established mutual admiration and trust during the making of the film, in which Washington plays Bleek Gilliam, a fictional jazz trumpeter whose tempestuous personal life threatens his playing career. As the actor credited Lee for giving him the freedom to explore all aspects of his acting repertoire withMo’ Better Blues, the director described Washington as being the world’sgreatest living actor.
Washington and Lee followedMo’ Better Blueswith the epic 1992 autobiographical filmMalcolm X, in which he delivers one of the greatest performances of his career as the film’s titular civil rights activist. However, followingMalcolm X,as Washington increasingly turned his focus to achieving box-office stardom, the actor-director duo only made two more films together over the next 30 years.
Denzel Washington and Spike Lee Bring Out the Best in Each Other
Inside Man
The greatest collaboration between Denzel Washington and Spike Lee is unquestionablyMalcolm X, in which he stars as the titular civil rights activist in a captivating performance that brought the actor, who first portrayed Malcolm X in the 1981 off-Broadway playWhen the Chickens Came Home to Roost, histhird Oscar nominationand first Best Actor nomination.
FollowingMalcolm X, the duo next reunited with the powerful 1998 sports drama filmHe Got Game, in which the actor, in his first older role, plays Jake Shuttlesworth, the recently paroled father of Jesus Shuttlesworth, a highly-rated basketball prospect whom Jake, who was jailed for accidentally killing Jesus’ mother, attempts to compel into playing for the New York governor’s alma mater in exchange for a lighter prison sentence.
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The upcoming crime thriller filmHigh and Low, a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 Japanese crime film of the same name,representsWashington and Lee’s first collaborationsince the 2006 crime thriller filmInside Man, in which Washington stars as Keith Frazier, a New York police detective who attempts to nab the cryptic mastermind of an elaborate bank heist.
Inside Man, which grossed approximately $185 million at the worldwide box office, marked a major commercial breakthrough for Lee, who had never previously directed a film that grossed more than $50 million at the worldwide box office. However, while the pair were anxious to reunite on another film in the aftermath of the success ofInside Man, fate and timing, mostly in terms of scheduling, conspired to keep this from happening for nearly two decades.
Washington and Lee Have a Family Connection
While the screen partnership between the duo has only resulted in a single Academy Award nomination, the Best Actor nomination that Washington received forMalcolm X, Lee’s lone competitive Academy Award victory, not including the honorary Oscar that he received in 2015, resulted from his collaboration with Washington’s son, John David Washington, in the 2019biographical comedy-crimefilmBlacKkKlansman.
InBlackKkLansman, John David Washington, in a role that would have been ideally suited for his father perhaps 30 years earlier, plays Ron Stallworth, a 1970s police detective in Colorado Springs, Colorado. As the first black detective in the city’s police department, he attempts to infiltrate the local Ku Klux Klan chapter.BlacKkKlansmanreceived six Academy Award nominations, the most by far for any Lee film, including the director’s first Best Director nomination, a Best Picture nomination, and a nomination in the Best Adapted Screenplay category, for which he received his first competitive Oscar.
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Moreover, while Denzel and John David Washington haven’t announced any future plans to appear together in an upcoming film, the forthcoming filmHigh and Lowrepresents a collaboration of sorts between Denzel and his daughter, Katia Washington, who serves as one of the film’s executive producers.
High and Low Marks Washington and Lee’s Long-Awaited Reunion
Denzel Washington and Spike Lee nearly reunited approximately four years ago in the director’s 2020 war drama filmDa 5 Bloods. The film tells the story of a quartet of agingVietnam War veteranswho return to Vietnam to find the remnants of their fallen squad leader and the treasure they buried as soldiers.
Washington was originally supposed to play the starring role of emotionally traumatized ex-soldier Paul until production delays led to the role being given to Delroy Lindo. Moreover, the original cast ofDa 5 Bloodsalso included John David Washington, who was originally slated to play the role of Paul’s son, David, the role Jonathan Majors plays in the film.
Meanwhile, before Washington and Lee finally reunited withHigh and Low, the actor formed lengthy creativepartnerships with Antoine Fuqua, who has presently directed Washington in five films, and Tony Scott, who also directed the actor in five films prior to Scott’s death in 2012.
Regardless, Washington has never been as open and trusting with any director as with Lee. Over the course of a friendship and professional relationship that’s spanned approximately 35 years, the now 69-year-old Washington and 67-year-old Lee have established a mutual understanding and shorthand that’s typically reserved for brothers.High and Low, the upcoming collaboration between the duo, currently has no release date.
