‘Was He Always That Good?’: How Denzel Washington Got His Start
Go behind the scenes of the legendary 1977 Fordham Theatre production of “Othello” that introduced a star to the world. Hear from castmates, friends, and the life-changing mentor who witnessed the iconic actor’s early genius.
A 22-year-old Denzel Washington plays Othello opposite Diane Hammarth, one of two actresses who played Desdemona in the 1977 Fordham production.
When it was announced that Denzel Washington would return to Broadway to take on the titanic title role in Shakespeare’s Othello, the response was predictably enthusiastic. What many didn’t know is that Washington had played the role before—as a 22-year-old Fordham senior seeking purpose and ultimately finding a calling onstage.
Fordham Magazine sat down with several people involved with the storied March 1977 production to get their perspective on this seminal moment in Fordham history—one with ripple effects in the world of entertainment and beyond.
Prologue
Denzel Washington’s performance in Othello became the stuff of legend, launching the career of one of the greatest actors of the 20th and 21st centuries. The production also created a template for the nascent Fordham Theatre program that formed him, wherein seasoned professionals don’t just pass down their knowledge—they pass the torch and introduce budding professionals to the wider world.
But according to Washington and those who knew and performed with him, the path was anything but straight. The Mount Vernon, New York, native spent two years at Fordham’s Rose Hill campus in the Bronx before transferring to the Lincoln Center campus in 1975.
* Unless otherwise noted, quotes from Denzel Washington are drawn from his essay, “So That We Might Follow,” in A Hand to Guide Me: Legends and Leaders Celebrate the People Who Shaped Their Lives (Meredith Books, 2006).
Anthony Carter: Denzel and I met in freshman year. In our sophomore year, we were suitemates in Martyrs’ Court. We both enrolled in the pre-med program and were in the same biology class. We had a lab where I had to prick my finger with one of those pins. It was a two-hour lab, and it took me an hour and forty minutes to get to that point, so I said, “D, this is not for me.” Then we saw the chemistry students with those big organic chemistry books, and the time had come for us to determine what we really wanted to do. He says, “You know what? I think I want to go into theater and acting.” I said, “Really?”
Denzel Washington: I’m still not sure what I was thinking, but I guess there was something about it that was attracting me. That was the way I made my decisions in those days. I didn’t plan out my life, I lived it. When you’re 20 years old, I guess that means you bounce from one path to the next until you hit on the one you’re meant to travel.
Act II: ‘Out of Nowhere’
A cast photo for “The World of Carl Sandburg,” featuring Washington (standing, second from right), Laura Ferri (sitting, far left) and Liz Zazzi (sitting, third from left).
To the existing theater cohort, Washington’s arrival in September 1975 was a shock—and a revelation. Hyper focused, he dove headfirst into everything the program had to offer. It was clear to his classmates that he wasn’t just a hard worker. He was a natural talent.
Liz Zazzi (Bianca in Othello): Denzel was this wunderkind. He was auditioning for pretty much everything. He auditioned for a really bad black-box production that was almost unwatchable except for his great performance. I think he just wanted to do everything that he possibly could. For every bit of talent that God gave him, he did not waste a second of it.
Timothy Jude (Senator): The first time I was in a show with him was the musical The World of Carl Sandburg. I met this young man who was humble, who was reserved, who had no ego. He didn’t have the kind of confidence that came with years of being in shows. He just was like a rookie. Whether or not he could actually get anywhere with this, I think, was really a question in his mind. He just took it one step at a time. His nose was to the grindstone.
Denzel Washington in a 1975 Fordham Theatre production of “The Emperor Jones”
Liz Zazzi: Denzel ended up in a production of Eugene O’Neill’s The Emperor Jones directed by [theater program director]Dave Davis. Dave said, “I don’t wanna do this if I can’t find an Emperor Jones,” and in walks Denzel, literally out of nowhere, and he is astounding.
Denzel Washington: That was the first leading role I ever played, and I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. I would go out and peek at the audience [before the show], count [the people], see if my mom was there.*
Joseph Santry (Rodrigo): Davis had been a Marine and was like the last person I would expect to be a theater person. Dave was really, really taken by Denzel. He was just very impressed with his talent.
Laura Ferri (Desdemona): And so Dave Davis said, “Oh, I gotta do Othello. I gotta showcase this guy.” So that’s what he decided to do. Because he was the department chair, he kind of figured out: “Hey, I can move money around. This is how I can get a big show.”
Act III: ‘I’ll Sing It Like This and Make It Happen’
Once the cast was set, a motley crew of Fordham community members put their heads down and began the work of mounting a monumental production. There was only one problem: They had no idea if they could pull it off.
Timothy Jude: As far as Shakespeare goes, some of us had no experience. So there was a little bit of doubt as to how things would go. When we were not in rehearsal, when we were having coffee or something, we wondered, we weren’t really sure.
Laura Ferri: We rehearsed in the evenings for about four to six weeks. I was very young—I didn’t turn 18 until December 1976. I was absolutely the youngest person in the cast. So I had an objective for every single line, and I worked through it. I also went to [the performing arts library at]Lincoln Center because there’s a song Desdemona sings in the fourth act. I listened to different recordings of people singing “The Willow Song,” and I learned it that way.
Denzel Washington: At the Lincoln Center library, they had records of the plays, so they had [Laurence] Olivier’s Othello. I put the headphones on, and I’d sit there and go [imitating]“Oh, my lord.” Ignorance is bliss. I didn’t know. I said, “OK, I’ll sing it like this and make it happen.” And people seemed to like it.*
* The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, December 16, 2021
Several roles were double-cast. First-year student Laura Ferri was one of two actors who played Desdemona, Othello’s new wife, opposite Denzel Washington.
Timothy Jude: I think Dave and the faculty noticed that Denzel had skills that were natural. Even Denzel didn’t realize it until he started to get these reactions. And so they wanted to give him an opportunity. They really were fair in trying to give any of us opportunities that would help us grow. Now nothing is gonna help you grow more than Othello—this challenging, dramatic, amazing role. They didn’t know for sure that he could pull it off.
Liz Zazzi: To be able to do that, carry that play? You can get away with it in almost any other role. But if you’re watching that play and you don’t have a good Othello? God help you.
A yearbook photo of David F. Davis
For the program’s blockbuster show, director David F. Davis wanted a special feel. To give it grandeur and scale, the show would be done differently than any previous productions.
Liz Zazzi: The theater department was growing, but it wasn’t like what you have now. Anytime the college could rent out Pope Auditorium, they did. So we frequently rehearsed in the hallways and in the black box. It made us intensely creative. We were working with bare-bones sets. One of the things that Dave did was he staged it in a way that took the whole production off the stage.
Laura Ferri: You had an audience on the stage, and you had an audience on the floor, but raked. And then you had a giant square in the middle of the floor with a circle on top of it. It was very unusual.
Liz Zazzi: That was so not what theater was traditionally.
Laura Ferri: When you have a set that is that spare and simple, then your costumes really pop. The costumes were gorgeous. Deeply Renaissance—rich velvets and satins. They looked really beautiful.
The Fordham company of “Othello” performs Act I, Scene 3 in Pope Auditorium, March 1977.
Inhabiting the period costumes rented from the New York Shakespeare Festival was a massive ensemble cast totaling 27 actors. The production also featured 27 crew members and three live musicians on guitar, trumpet, and drums.
Junior Diane Hammarth, one of two actresses who played Desdemona, in rehearsal with Professor Robinson Stone as Brabantio.
In perhaps the most notable choice of the production, undergraduate students in the cast were joined by professionals—including older students taking night classes at Fordham and one professor with an exceptional resume.
Liz Zazzi: Professor Robinson “Bob” Stone was a beloved English teacher—he played Brabantio, Desdemona’s father. And so that was kind of an event because he was fabulous.
Denzel Washington: I was blessed at Fordham to cross paths with Robinson Stone. He knew his stuff. He was in Stalag 17. He was in Othello on Broadway with Uta Hagen, Paul Robeson, and José Ferrer. He’d accomplished a lot, and he was eager to share what he knew. Very quickly he became a real positive presence in my life when I was trying on this idea of becoming an actor. He was enormously helpful and encouraging.
Laura Ferri: He actually brought José Ferrer in to talk to us once. He was really wonderful. Having those older actors in the show added this gravitas to the production that you normally wouldn’t get when everybody’s the same age. And they gave it a more professional air.
Liz Zazzi: Let’s face it—when you’re in college, you usually play people that you’re way too young to be playing. And so there was a feeling about it that it was something special.
Stone and Ferri as Brabantio and Desdemona
Joseph Santry: Professor Stone was crazy about Denzel. He saw what Denzel was about, and he supported him any way that he could.
Timothy Jude: One day on a rehearsal break, I was sitting with a couple of guys, and Denzel was against the wall in a chair, and Davis and Stone came in and sat down with him and—in a positive way—read the riot act to him. Professor Stone led the way. He said, “Son, you have got it. You have got it. You have to pursue this business.” Because I think they thought that he didn’t really understand his possibilities.
Liz Zazzi: People ask, “Was he always that good?” And the answer is yes. He just inhabited whatever character he was playing in such a complete way, but also in a completely realistic way.
Shakespeare’s play focuses on the relationship between the renowned Black military general Othello and his trusted standard-bearer, Iago, recently passed over for promotion. Iago plots Othello’s downfall by manipulating him into believing his new wife, Desdemona, has been unfaithful.
Washington plays Othello opposite Joel Abel, a night student and professional actor who played Iago.
Laura Ferri: They really worked on that character trajectory so it was beautifully done—how Iago would work him and work him into this almost crazed state. It was just very sophisticated character development for college.
Robinson Stone: [In a key third-act scene,] Washington turned in the direction of Desdemona and crooked his right arm, and as he talked to [Iago] his biceps rose, and he said softly, “Damn her, lewd minx! O, damn her!” Ordinarily, an actor screams that line, but he whispered it. It showed imagination was going on and that he had an ability to understand this very complex character.*
Anthony Carter: I knew he would do well in that show. I was around him when he was studying theater, and he was attentive to every possible way in which he could learn. Once he’s focused, you know to get out of his way. Everything he is, everything he’s got, everything that needs to be put into that character or story—he gives that.
Act IV: ‘We Knew We Had Something Special’
Washington and Hammarth
The show opened on March 7 to big buzz and packed houses. Matinee performances were added to meet demand. Connie Cullen, a student writer for The Fordham Ram who covered Broadway theater, was assigned to review the final dress rehearsal.
Connie Cullen: I’d like to think that, because I had been reviewing the professional things, that’s why I was selected. This was a student production that had this interest around it.
Laura Ferri: There were literally giant posters with a picture of Denzel on one side and there was a giant picture of myself and Bob Stone on the other, right where the elevators were. They really pumped it up.
Liz Zazzi: Audiences were knocked out. The feel of it was so unique. It was absolutely an event.
Connie Cullen: I felt the time just went by because the show was so well put together, so well acted, just beautiful to look at due to its simplicity. So that’s what I wanted to get across to people: This is worth your time to go see. Don’t be put off that it’s three and a half hours. This is an invitation to a special experience.
Anthony Carter: I was totally engrossed in that show because here was my friend, who talked so much about this, who was so passionate about it. So I was awestruck, to be honest with you. But so proud and happy that he accomplished this.
Press photos from the original review in “The Ram”
Marissa Delgado (Cypriot): Denzel and I traveled together to go back home because we would get off at the same station. We had many conversations, so I really did get to know him on a personal level. Being a person of color myself and seeing how he was able to grab this role—you think of Shakespeare, this high-level stuff that not too many folks can really aspire to do. You get this local African American who is able to combine his experiences with that. I just felt a great sense of pride. We knew we had something different and special here with this person.
Robinson Stone: He was easily the best Othello I had ever seen. And I had played Brabantio opposite Paul Robeson. I dragged several agents to come and see him.*
* The New York Times Magazine, October 25, 1992
Laura Ferri: Denzel was amazing, and I’m not just saying that because of where he is now. He had an absolutely gorgeous voice, and when he delivered his speech, you just believed it.
Timothy Jude: He was nervous, like the rest of us. But his nerves didn’t impede his voice or his body. They just seemed to work together.
Liz Zazzi: He had the ability to interpret the text like a human being speaking to another human being. That to me was the standout to this day. One thing that a lot of actors can’t do is speak Shakespeare’s language like a human being.
Act V: A Mentor For Life
The production of Othello became a calling card for a young Washington attempting to build a career. That career may not have happened without the intervention of Professor Stone.
Denzel Washington has returned to campus periodically to speak with students. On December 7, 1993, he introduced his mentor and former scene partner Robinson Stone, pictured here wearing a T-shirt from the 1977 production of “Othello,” calling him “a great influence in my life.”
Denzel Washington: He ended up writing a recommendation for me when I was auditioning for a couple of graduate school programs in drama. I still have the letter. I keep it with me when I travel, along with a bunch of other personal stuff—the program from my father’s funeral, things like that.
“I say—without hesitation—that Mr. Washington is the finest young actor I have ever known. At age 22, he has a potential for being one of the outstanding actors of the latter part of the 20th century. If there is such a thing as genius, then I assure you Mr. Washington is one, and God only knows where this can take him.”
Excerpt from letter by Robinson Stone
Anthony Carter: That brilliant English professor took a chance on Denzel. He talks about it with so much reverence, so much respect. He adored that man. That’s why he does what he does and tries to be so good at it.
Marissa Delgado: Everyone was really rooting for him. And Bob being a professional actor, having those connections, that’s what it took. I mean, imagine if that wasn’t the case. Would someone have come to Fordham’s production of Othello with this unknown person, Denzel Washington, in it? We’ll never know.
Liz Zazzi: When Bob passed away [in May 2000], there was a memorial. Denzel at that point was a pretty big deal, and he came to that memorial service for Bob. That bond was incredibly strong.
In the days before Stone’s death in the spring of 2000, Washington surprised him with a visit to his home. The two spent private time together, and Washington dined with Stone’s family.
Denzel Washington: He gave me something to live up to. He lit a fire in me. He might have been blowing smoke, gushing, saying all those nice things about me … [but]this man believed in me and that was huge. Because he believed in me, I believed in myself.
Anthony Carter: When you look at him now, and look at the audiences that still swarm the theaters to see Denzel in Othello—I feel awe and excitement in every aspect of it. Look at what Fordham produced. Look at how humble he is about it. You feel proud.
Marissa Delgado: To see this effort for Denzel, it was really like he was doing it for all of us. And I’ve been so proud seeing his career, and what he’s done and what he has given back.
Denzel Washington: We’ve all been blessed in some way. A single blessing is all the bounty in the world, and if you’ve been blessed at all you’re meant to pass some of that on. You’re meant to set a positive example. That’s our responsibility.
Interviews conducted, edited, and condensed by Franco Giacomarra, a 2019 Fordham Theatre graduate and assistant editor of this magazine.
Curtain Call: Denzel Washington’s Legacy and Enduring Fordham Ties
Denzel Washington received an honorary degree from Fordham at commencement on May 18, 1991, one year after earning his first Academy Award, for his work in the film “Glory.” He’s pictured here with (from left) Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., then president of Fordham; his mother, Lennis Washington; and his Fordham mentor Robinson Stone.
While returning to Othello may have brought Washington back to his roots, his connection to Fordham has never faded. He received an honorary degree from the University in 1991, served on its Board of Trustees from 1994 to 2000, and in 2011, established an endowed scholarship for Fordham Theatre students and the Denzel Washington Endowed Chair in Theatre—a way to bring seasoned artists and educators into the program that helped shape his own career.
