Denzel Washington recorded conversations with Sidney Poitier: 'I heard Sidney Poitier curse'

On Monday’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Denzel Washington recalled his friendship with the great Sidney Poitier. Poitier died Jan. 6 at the age of 94. Several years ago, Poitier saw Washington perform in A Soldier’s Play and they’ve been friends ever since.

“He came backstage and took pictures with all of us,” Washington recalled. “He came over to me and he says, ‘You know, you're good, you're very good.’ I was like, what do you say to Sidney Poitier? ‘Yes, sir, thank you!’”

Throughout his career, Washington has been compared to Poitier, who won an Academy Award for Best Actor for Lilies of the Field. Washington joked that the comparison “beats a sharp stick in the eye.”

Washington also revealed that he would often visit Poitier and even recorded their meetings in hopes of capturing some of the actor’s genius.

“I would just go over to his house and hangout and visit him and I have all types of tapes of him talking about stuff. … I heard Sidney Poitier curse.”

“Oh you did?” Kimmel asked. "Which of the many wonderful words?”

“He used them all,” Denzel said. “I was like, ‘Oh, not Mr. Tibbs?’”

Washington is currently promoting his new film, Macbeth, in which he plays the title character.

Jimmy Kimmel Live! airs weeknights at 11:35 p.m. on ABC.

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