Denzel Washington says, “it’s not easy” playing Macbeth in his latest role

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28 Jan 2022, 16:50

The Tragedy of Macbeth is Shakespeare like you’ve never seen it before.

The actor’s latest project, The Tragedy of Macbeth, premiered on Apple TV+ earlier this month and has already received a flurry of positive reviews, with some even saying this could secure Denzel an Oscar.

Directed by Joel Coen, it’s also the first film from one of the Coen brothers that doesn’t involve the other.

That said, Denzel has revealed how difficult the role was to play and what it was like to read a Shakespeare script.

Speaking in an exclusive for Metro about the film, the actor said: “It’s the best. It’s the most challenging and the most rewarding.

“It’s not easy. You can’t ad-lib. There’s certain rules and structure, and Shakespeare is a proven success. The pressure, if you will, is on the filmmaker and the actors to do our job. Macbeth is already there. Can we come up to that level?”

He continued: “Shakespeare wrote a pretty good play. So to work on this masterpiece, with masters like Joel and Fran, that’s what you want. That’s just rare air, and you just want to bring your best to it.

I was excited about it every day.”

The ‘Fran’ he is talking about there is Frances McDormand, who stars alongside Washington as his on-screen wife, Lady Macbeth.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is Shakespeare like you’ve never seen it before. It follows the traditional story of the original play but with a German expressionist twist.

It’s going to be quite a busy year for Washington, as earlier this month, he also confirmed a script had been written for the third Equalizer film, and he would be returning to star as the crime-fighting vigilante Robert McCall.

The last Equalizer film premiered in 2018, so it is long overdue, although there is no confirmation of a release date for the third film yet.

The Tragedy of Macbeth is now available to stream on Apple TV+.