Denzel Washington’s Favorite Film Is Surprisingly Underrated

Denzel Washington has revealed that his performance in the 1999 film The Hurricane is one of the roles he is most proud of, even though the movie didn’t get the attention it deserved.

The film tells the true story of Rubin “The Hurricane” Carter, a middleweight boxer who was wrongfully convicted of a triple murder in Paterson, New Jersey.

“The studio didn’t release it properly, and it got buried,” Washington told The Guardian. “They were trying too hard to position it for the Oscars, and they wound up hurting the movie. But I think it’s one of those films whose reputation will gain over time. It’s the one I’m most proud of, right up there with Malcolm X.”

The movie, directed by Norman Jewison, follows Carter’s arrest, life in prison, and eventual release thanks to the efforts of a teenager from Brooklyn named Lesra Martin and his Canadian foster family.

The story was adapted from Carter’s autobiography, The Sixteenth Round, and the non-fiction book Lazarus and the Hurricane. Washington spent time with Carter before filming, which helped him shape the character. “I met this sweet, little guy who will tell you to this day that he wouldn’t change a thing; that everything that has happened to him has made him a better person and made him the person that he is today,” Washington explained.

“I spent a lot of time just talking with Rubin, and he walked me through his past and how those agencies and individuals affected him in his life. So I just related to the experiences I had and drew from the experiences he told me about to try and shape the character.”

Despite earning Washington a Golden Globe and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, The Hurricane earned modest profits at the box office, making $74 million against a $50 million budget.

Critics, however, praised Washington’s performance. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said, “This is one of Denzel Washington’s great performances, on a par with his work in Malcolm X…. Washington as Hurricane Carter is spare, focused, filled with anger and pride…. What affects me emotionally at the movies is never sadness, but goodness.”

The film holds an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 74, indicating generally favorable reviews. Stephen Holden of The New York Times also praised Washington, writing that he “leans into an otherwise schlocky movie and slams it out of the ballpark. If his Hurricane is an inspiring portrait of nobility, it is because the actor never conceals the demons of fury and despair gnawing beneath his character’s forcefully articulate surface.”

Jewison himself has called The Hurricane one of his best works. While some critics noted historical inaccuracies, Washington feels the story’s emotional truth matters more. “Several people have told me dubiously that they heard the movie was ‘fictionalized’. Well, of course it was. Most biopics see the good in a man and demonize his enemies. They provide the best roles to the most interesting characters. We wouldn’t pay to see them otherwise,” Ebert wrote.

For Washington, the film remains a personal highlight in his career, a role that allowed him to explore deep human emotion and social justice in a way few other projects have.

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