Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal to Star in Shakespeare's “Othello” on Broadway

Benjamin VanHoose
·2 min read
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The play will open on Broadway in spring 2025

<p>Momodu Mansaray/WireImage; Unique Nicole/WireImage</p> Denzel Washington; Jake Gyllenhaal

Momodu Mansaray/WireImage; Unique Nicole/WireImage

Denzel Washington; Jake Gyllenhaal

Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal are brushing up on their Shakespeare together.

On Wednesday, producer Brian Anthony Moreland announced that two-time Oscar-winner Washington, 69, and Oscar nominee Gyllenhaal, 43, will star opposite each other on Broadway in William Shakespeare's Othello. Washington will play the titular character, while Gyllenhaal will be Iago.

Tony Award winner Kenny Leon is directing the show, which will open in spring 2025 at a Shubert Theatre to be announced.

Gyllenhaal wrote on Instagram, "Can't wait."

Washington earned his 10th Oscar nomination for a Shakespeare turn onscreen in the 2021 film The Tragedy of Macbeth. He also starred in the 1993 movie adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. Onstage over the years, he's also performed Julius Caesar, Coriolanus and Richard III.

Related: Tom Holland to Star in 'Pulsating New Vision' of Romeo and Juliet on London's West End

<p>Apple TV+</p> Denzel Washington in "The Tragedy of Macbeth" (2021)

Apple TV+

Denzel Washington in "The Tragedy of Macbeth" (2021)

Washington told IndieWire in 2022, "Shakespeare, that’s the only challenge left for me. It’s the ultimate challenge."

"I’m more interested in Shakespeare than anything else as an actor, at this point in my life or in my career," the Equalizer actor added. "You have to come up to the standard of Shakespeare. I don’t care who you are, if you can’t deliver, you will get exposed. And I love that: No pain, no gain."

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The star told ABC7's On the Red Carpet that same year that Shakespeare is "the gift that keeps on giving."

"You have to unlock it. You have to meet Shakespeare where he is," said Washington. "You can't bring Shakespeare down to your level — you have to come up to this level. It's a standard that your ordinary chops ain't enough to get you over."

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