On March 23, in honor of their starry opening night, an extended interview with Othello stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Denzel Washington was released by the long-running program CBS Sunday Morning.
The interview, which was conducted by 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker, allowed the duo to commiserate on their experience with Shakespeare's classic text. For Washington, it is something of a return to his roots.
"This is a 48-year journey for me," shared Washington. "48 years ago I played Othello at 22, right down the block at Fordham at Lincoln Center. I go past it every day on my way to rehearsal. It's fascinating to have been too young for the part and some may say now too old. Fourty-eight years of experience, so 48 years of pain and pleasure and life has informed my approach."
For Gyllenhaal, the piece also has him reflecting on the nature of time. "Death is ever present in every moment of the show, and to do it service is a lot of hard work. We're all working very hard to try our best to do that, but personally, it's constantly humbling to be able to work with [Denzel] on such a extraordinary piece. You get to a point where you're like 'oh I've worked my whole career for this for this moment', and that is that what this feels like."
While Washington is deeply familiar with Shakespeare's canon, having starred in Julius Caesar on Broadway and Much Ado About Nothing on screen, this is Gyllenhaal's first professional Shakespeare production. "I did Much Ado About Nothing in high school", Gyllenhaal offers, bashful. "I've spent a good part of this year learning how to speak the language, and learning the show, but most particularly learning the language itself so I could feel somewhat comfortable in speaking in it."
A trip to the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts to see a show shortly before opening reconnected Gyllenhaal with that early dramatic experience, threading the needle through time to his present. "When you're out in the wings, when you're waiting, that feeling made me love acting from the very beginning when I was a kid. Being able to have the opportunity to express myself in that space, one of the only places in my life where I could say 'oh I can express all these feelings right?'... sitting in the wings before you go on, that feeling doesn't change, from that kid in high school to me as a grown man about to go out on Broadway to perform this extraordinary piece with one of my favorite actors. It doesn't change, that feeling and that excitement, the joy of being able to do what we do."
"This is the most excited I've been this century," Washington shares, his tone gravely serious. "Seriously. I haven't been this excited about anything I've done as I am about this."
To see the full 14-minute interview, check out the link above.
Broadway's newest revival of Othello opened at the Barrymore Theatre March 23. The production began previews February 24. Check out the reviews here.
