Awash In Good Looks ‘Crimson Tide’ Star Denzel Washington Thinks Talent Accounts More For Success Than Handsomeness

Denzel Washington is not just another pretty face. Well, he is, but don’t let him hear you say it.

The Oscar-winning actor, who plays a handsome and intelligent naval officer who battles with Gene Hackman in the underwater thriller “Crimson Tide,” which opened Friday, is really sensitive about his looks.

He believes this handsome thing is a burden because it keeps detracting from people’s appreciation of his acting abilities. The people he is talking about specifically are interviewers.

“I resented it when I first started hearing it because I didn’t know where it was coming from,” he said. “All of a sudden, it started creeping into every interview, and I didn’t understand it. I guess the media just like to categorize you, and I was categorized as this handsome leading man, or whatever.

“But what bothers me the most about this is that people might think that my looks had something to do with my success, and they didn’t. I didn’t get to this point because of my looks, and I don’t take roles because they’re star-making vehicles.

“Maybe I should start taking dumb-and-ugly roles so you people will stop asking me about it.”

Even Washington, 40, laughs at the ridiculousness of trying to play down his drop-dead looks. When you’re making a reported $6 million to play submarine in a movie, it all seems a bit silly.

Still, the actor always has been as well-known in Hollywood circles for his serious approach to his craft as his looks, so the pride is understandable.

For Washington, it was not the $6 million or the potential summer-blockbuster nature of “Crimson Tide” that excited him about the film, in which he plays the second-in-command of a nuclear sub that may or may not have received orders to launch its missiles at a Russian rebel army base.

“I’m not that calculating a person to take a part because it might further my career or it might enhance my leading-man status,” Washington said.

“There were a number of factors that went into choosing this role, but one of the main reasons was the chance to go head to head with a true genius, Gene Hackman. These moments are why I went into acting.”

A native of Mount Vernon, N.Y., Washington studied drama at Fordham University in New York City and then continued his studies at the prestigious American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. He returned to the Big Apple, where he appeared in various stage productions until he received a call from the West Coast.

He appeared in the 1979 TV movie “Flesh and Blood,” made his big-screen debut two years later in the totally forgettable “Carbon Copy” and was “discovered” while performing in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “A Soldier’s Story.”

The theater part landed him the continuing role of handsome Dr. Chandler (there’s that handsome thing again) on the NBC series “St. Elsewhere,” which he used to segue back to feature films.

Washington’s star rose significantly with the film “Glory,” which brought him a supporting actor Oscar, and then he put Hollywood on notice for good with a leading-actor nomination for his performance in the title role of Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X.”

Then came, in rapid succession, “Much Ado About Nothing” with Kenneth Branagh, “The Pelican Brief” opposite Julia Roberts, and “Philadelphia” with Tom Hanks. His next two films, “Virtuosity” and “Devil With the Blue Dress,” are completed.

Washington is taking the summer off.

“If I did another picture right now, I’d explode,” the actor said. “I am exhausted.

Washington said that turning down millions is easy if you know why you went into acting in the first place.

“I’ve always patterned myself after the British actors,” he said. “On ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ these British actors were talking about leaving to do King Lear in some small theater for $200 a week. They could have waited around for a big film, but that’s not the point.

“The idea is to keep working and to keep getting better,” he added. “The British don’t feel they have to keep topping themselves, and neither do I. It gets harder to maintain that attitude, particularly in this country, because they keep dangling bigger carrots in front of you.

“But you have to decide what you’re in this for. For me, it’s not the money. It never was. I never set out to meet the right people, go to the right parties and take the right roles. I just wanted to work. And so far it’s worked for me.”

Now, if he were just dumb and ugly….

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: QUICK LOOK AT WASHINGTON Denzel Washington at a glance: Age: 40 Marital status: Married with children. Born and raised: In Mount Vernon, N.Y. Educated at Fordham University and at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco. Big break: He was appearing in the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “A Soldier’s Story” when he was plucked from the cast and given the role of Dr. Chandler in the NBC series “St. Elsewhere.” A year later, he was given time off from the series to reprise his role in the film version of “A Soldier’s Story.” His career survived: His first film, “Carbon Copy.” Superstar territory: He won a supporting actor Oscar for “Glory” and was nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Malcolm X in director Spike Lee’s film. About being a role model: “It’s important to push new boundaries, but that’s not a factor in how I choose my roles. I don’t take every role thinking what the community wants me to do.” Orange Country Register