‘It Got Intense’: Josh Brolin Says He Nearly Fought Denzel Washington While Filming ‘American Gangster’

Josh Brolin revealed that things once got tense between him and Denzel Washington while filming American Gangster.

During an interview on In Depth with Graham Bensinger, the 56-year-old actor shared that he and Washington nearly came to blows on set. “Denzel and I, by the way, get along very well now,” Brolin said. “We almost got into a fight.”

The 2007 movie, directed by Ridley Scott, told the story of real-life drug kingpin Frank Lucas, played by Washington.

Brolin portrayed a detective who was trying to bring him down. He said working on the project was exciting since it gave him the chance to act alongside some of his favorite performers. But during one scene, things got unexpectedly heated.

According to Brolin, Washington changed part of the dialogue right before filming. That threw him off, and he struggled to remember his next line. “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,” Brolin recalled.

Trying to recover, he reached out to Washington for help. “I put my hand on his shoulder and I said, ‘What’s the line?’ and he hit my hand off and said, ‘Don’t ever f**** put your hand on me,’” Brolin said. “And I was like, ‘Holy s***, I’m gonna scrap with Denzel Washington. This is crazy.’”

Brolin explained that Washington seemed completely immersed in his character at the time. “In his mind, he was just doing his job. He was that guy. He was Frank Lucas, period. But I didn’t know,” he said. After the moment passed, the tension eased. “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.”

A year later, when they ran into each other at an event, Washington greeted him warmly, showing there were no hard feelings.

Brolin added that actors like Washington tend to stay deeply focused while working. “You want to have an experience, and those guys are just trying to do their job. It makes sense to me that they would kind of narrow outside life in any way that they can,” he said, comparing Washington’s intense approach to that of veteran actors like Robert Duvall.

The story gives fans a peek at the kind of passion and commitment that can unfold behind the scenes of big Hollywood films, even between respected professionals.

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