Very few actors have had careers on the same level as Denzel Washington’s.
Washington has been a mainstay in film, television, and theater for more than 40 years now. He appeared in his first big-budget film in 1981 but made his official on-screen debut in the late ’70s. His first theatrical appearance was in the late ’70s as well, portraying several characters in a 1979 production of Coriolanus.
Washington is best known for any number of roles, depending on which genre of film viewers are drawn to. Drama fans will likely know him best from movies like The Tragedy of Macbeth or Fences while action fans are almost certainly familiar with Man on Fire. He’s even been in a thriller or two, proving that Washington’s career has spanned genres and visual mediums, allowing the popular actor to take on a broad swathe of projects.
Washington is pushing 70 these days, but that’s not enough to urge the man to slow it down a bit. His career is just as lively as it was a few decades back, despite the star’s step away from the small screen. He far prefers theatrical releases like 2023’s The Equalizer 3, which drew in high praise the moment audiences set sights on it.
Due in large part to his impressive career, Washington is worth quite a bit of money. The 67-year-old actor has been in high demand for decades now, which allows him to pull in larger and larger paychecks for his numerous roles. He’s reinvested quite a bit of his enviable wealth into worthwhile organizations over the years, according to Celebrity Net Worth, making contributions both of his famous name and his money over the years.
Denzel Washington’s net worth
Washington is one of the wealthier actors in Hollywood. He’s worth a whopping $280 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth, and brings in between $60 and $80 million annually.
In his earliest days as an actor, Washington’s paychecks weren’t nearly as impressive as they are these days. His early roles in films like Wilma and even Training Day earned Washington less than $15 million a pop, but he’s bringing in far more now. He started making a solid $20 million per film role following his Oscar win for Training Day, earning big bucks for his early 2000s roles in Man on Fire and Out of Time.
This impressive man even got paid twice to make a film, according to Cosmopolitan. He reportedly baked a $20 million paycheck into his original American Gangster contract, regardless of whether the film was made or not, and ultimately cashed in when the film was nixed. It was revived sometime later, allowing Washington to earn yet another $20 million for actually appearing on-screen.
These days, Washington makes even more than $20 million per role, raking in up to $40 million for films like 2021’s The Little Things. He also makes big money as a producer and director, leaving Washington with absolutely zero monetary concerns ⏤ except, perhaps, what to do with all that cash.