After his breakout performance in BlacKkKlansman, John David Washington is here to remind folks he is not coasting on the success of his father, Denzel Washington.
In a new interview with Mr Porter, Washington revealed he would purposely hide his father’s identity during auditions. “I saw how people changed when they found out who my father was,” he told the publication. “I used to lie, saying he was a construction worker or in jail, just to have some sense of normalcy.”
Washington revealed that he believed people wouldn’t take him seriously as an actor if they knew who his father was.
“I felt like there was no way people would take me seriously, even if I was good,” he said. “They would always judge me. So I hid who my father was. I guess I was protecting myself.”
It seems Washington’s decision paid off. Following his Golden Globe and SAG Award-nominated performance in BlacKkKlansman, Washington will next appear as the lead in Christopher Nolan’s spy film Tenet. He will also star in Euphoria creator Sam Levinson’s Malcolm & Marie alongside Zendaya.
