Ethan Hawke reveals why Denzel Washington said it was better that he lost at 2002 Oscars

Published on April 26, 2024 04:13PM EDT

Is it really an honor just to be nominated? According to Denzel Washington's advice to Ethan Hawke, it's actually better to lose at the Oscars.

Back in 2002, the Training Day costars were both nominated for an Academy Award — Washington was up for the Best Actor prize while Hawke was competing for Best Supporting Actor. Washington went on to win his Oscar, but Hawke lost to Jim Broadbent for his role in Iris. And according to Hawke, after he lost, Washington leaned over to whisper that it's better to lose the Oscar.

"You don't want an award to improve your status. You want to improve the award's status," Hawke explained during his appearance on Who's Talking to Chris Wallace on Max to discuss his new movie Wildcats. "That's the way he thinks and that's what I'm talking about playing with Babe Ruth."

Hawke previously compared acting with Washington to what it would be like to play baseball with Ruth. "I think when all is said and done, he's the greatest actor of our generation," he said. "The Academy Award has more power, because Denzel has a couple. It didn't elevate who he was."

All that being said, would Hawke have rather won the Oscar more than 20 years ago? "No," he said. "I mean, yeah, I guess. I was at the Oscars sitting next to Denzel Washington and nominated against Ian McKellen. I had already won. It was impossible for me not to see it any other way."

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