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Meet Denzel Washington’s talented son Malcolm Washington, who just made his directorial debut with Netflix’s The Piano Lesson, starring Samuel L. Jackson
STORYSarah Keenlyside
- Malcolm Washington turned the Telluride Film Festival into a family affair when he invited his older brother and sister on stage to share credit for his directorial debut, The Piano Lesson
- The upcoming Netflix film is personal to the Washingtons, and the 33-year-old was keen to do it justice; meanwhile, his twin sister Olivia Washington is currently starring in Slave Play in London
In the talented family that Denzel Washington and his wife Pauletta have created, youngest son Malcolm Washington may just be the most low-key. But the 33-year-old director is about to get his big moment.
August 31 saw the premiere of his first feature film, The Piano Lesson, at the Telluride Film Festival. The movie arrives in cinemas on November 8, then starts streaming on Netflix on November 22.
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The film is based on a work by Pulitzer-winning playwright August Wilson, and centres on a brother and sister’s dilemma about what to do with the ornate piano their enslaved ancestors were traded for. Boy Willie, played by Malcolm’s brother John David Washington in the film, wants to sell it to buy land, while his sister Berniece, played by Danielle Deadwyler, thinks its legacy should be preserved. Samuel L. Jackson also stars; both John David and Jackson were in the 2022 Broadway revival of the play.
But John David isn’t the only sibling supporting his younger brother in his directorial debut: sister Katia is a producer on the film, as is dad Denzel.
So what else do we know about the up-and-coming auteur, and his rise in Hollywood?
Malcolm Washington is a twin
Twins Malcolm and Olivia Washington were born in 1991 to Training Day actor Denzel Washington and singer and actress Pauletta Washington. The twins are the youngest of the Washingtons’ four children, who also include 40-year-old Malcolm & Marie actor John David, and 36-year-old producer Katia. Olivia is an actress, and her rise appears to be in sync with her brother’s. She’s also just taken on her biggest role to date, playing Kaneisha in Jeremy O. Harris’ Tony Award-winning Slave Play in London.