LOS ANGELES, March 31 — Denzel Washington felt an emotional shift while watching Black Panther, describing it as the moment he realised “the baton had been passed.”
In the new Apple TV+ documentary Number One on the Call Sheet, Washington, 70, recalled being moved to tears by the 2018 blockbuster starring Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan.
“I cried a little bit when I saw Black Panther,” he said, adding, “I felt, I don’t know if the word is ‘relieved,’ but I was proud to see what they had done and seeing where they were headed.”
At the time, Washington had been performing on Broadway in The Iceman Cometh but attended the film’s premiere, choosing to skip the red carpet to speak with director Ryan Coogler and Boseman before watching the movie.
Reflecting on the film’s success, Washington admitted he had not anticipated it would become a billion-dollar hit but recognised its significance for Black-led storytelling in Hollywood.
A nine-time Oscar nominee with two wins, Washington had portrayed real and fictional icons such as Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, and Macbeth, shaping the industry’s portrayal of Black excellence.
In November, he revealed that Coogler had been writing a role for him in the upcoming Black Panther 3, hinting at his possible involvement in the franchise.
Number One on the Call Sheet, which premiered on March 28, explored the influence of Black leading men and women in Hollywood, featuring Washington alongside stars like Eddie Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Halle Berry, and Viola Davis.
The documentary also paid tribute to Boseman, who passed away in 2020 at age 43, and examined how Black Panther reshaped representation in film.
Laurence Fishburne described Black Panther as “the movie that Black people had been waiting for for 100 years,” celebrating its cultural impact and the power of Black-led storytelling.
