Spike Lee spoke warmly of his long-time working relationship and friendship with Denzel Washington in a conversation at the Red Sea Film Festival on Tuesday.
Lee is currently in post-production on Highest 2 Lowest, his latest collaboration with Washington, and their fifth film together after Mo’ Better Blues, Malcolm X, He Got Game and Inside Man.
“Someone pointed out to me that the last time we worked together was 18 years ago. I was surprised because it didn’t feel that way. I’m very blessed to have done five films together, he is arguably the best actor on the planet,” he said.
Lee, who also cast Washington’s son John David Washington’s son in BlacKkKlansman, suggested he shared a special bond with the actor.
“We’re brothers,” he said. “We just do our thing. We’re familiar with one another… our families are very tight.”
Talking about their collaboration in Malcolm X, Lee described Washington’s interpretation of the iconic human rights activist as “the best performance in a biopic ever” and raised a round of applause from the audience.
He then gave shout-out to actor’s recent nomination for Gladiator 2, asking: “Has anyone seen Gladiator 2?”
Lee is at the Saudi Arabian film festival as the president of the jury for main Yusr Awards competition focused on films by emerging talents from the Middle East, African and Asia.
He is is among a raft of stars attending the event’s fourth edition alongside Michael Mann, Michael Douglas, Michelle Yeoh, Catherine Zeta–Jones, Eva Longoria, Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Sarah Jessica Parker and Jeremy Renner.
It is Lee’s third visit to the country, having previously attended the festival in 2022 and also filmed scenes of his 1992 Oscar-nominated biopic Malcolm X in Mecca.
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