Actor and former football player John David Washington has seamlessly carried his athletic background into his acting career. The son of Oscar-winner Denzel Washington and Pauletta Washington, John David initially pursued football, even briefly playing in the NFL, before transitioning to Hollywood. He’s best known for his onscreen physicality, particularly via his roles in Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman and Christopher Nolan’s Tenet. Washington’s latest role keeps it in the family. He stars in the film adaptation of August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, directed by his brother Malcolm and produced by his dad.
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Speaking of family and football, Washington reflects on his deep admiration for Philadelphia, both in film and in sport. The 1993 film Philadelphia, which starred Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, stuck with him as its powerful social message continues to resonate today. He emphasizes the film's exploration of prejudice and expresses a personal aspiration to one day play a role comparable to his father’s talented and flawed attorney, Joe Miller. He also takes a moment to give a shout-out to his childhood hero, former Philadelphia Eagle and NFL star Randall Cunningham, fondly recalling a memorable on-field encounter with him.
More: John David Washington talks parallels between college football and acting (The Treatment, 2024)
This segment has been edited and condensed for clarity.
I've been actually going back to a Jonathan Demme film called Philadelphia. I love that film, it's one of my favorites. The reason I love the Philadelphia Eagles is Randall Cunningham. So when my father was shooting that film, we went to an Eagles game, and I got to go down on the field and meet Randall Cunningham, my hero. There's footage out there somewhere where he's telling me about the right gloves and the towel to have, and I'm just like, "yes, okay, okay, okay." So it's funny that that moment is attached to that film.
It was the mid ‘90s — not just the fact that a Black man was playing the position, but how he played it, that was new to my understanding. And he's an underrated pocket passer. I won't get into the details, but everything about his style, the NFL wasn't ready for it, you know? It was an incredible experience. And so a lot of that, that happened at the same time my dad was doing this incredible film with Jonathan Demme.
[Philadelphia] stands the test of time. Watching it recently, it works right now. The performances, Antonio Banderas, you know? I mean, like Tom Hanks, Mr. Washington. It was an incredible film. I love that film, and what it said, and what it spoke to socially.
It's such an interesting movie, because here he is on the other side, an LGBTQ+, film, right? And he's on the other side of that, not because he doesn't understand and his ignorance is in the character full flesh, but yet he's a Black man that deals with prejudice and stuff, but yet… It's a brilliant movie. It's incredible. I love that film.
I would love to do something like that. If there's something out there like that, that would be a goal of mine. To play a lawyer in some way, the way he did.