The two starred alongside each other in Ridley Scott’s 2007 crime drama American gangsterWashington as real gangster Frank Lucas and Brolin as corrupt detective Trupo, whom he has to pay off. The role actually came at a time when Washington was already established as a leading man in Hollywood, but Brolin’s career was in decline after some success over the past few decades.

As one of the greats, Washington obviously immersed himself in the character of Frank Lucas, a ruthless gangster. And while he’s not known for overdoing method acting or acting intensely on set, he still brought that confidence and aggressiveness to the role. So Brolin, playing a corrupt cop trying to blackmail him, felt the full force of that energy.

In conversation with diversityBrolin discussed how the near-fight with Washington was sparked by the former forgetting a line during rehearsal. “Denzel was a little late and there was a whole thing going on. And then he showed me the lines… he didn’t change any of my lines, but he kind of changed the structure of it. He said, ‘I think I’m going to put this here and put that up there.’ But he wouldn’t really look at me,” he explained.

So Brolin did what he thought was best – he asked for his line while placing a friendly hand on Denzel’s shoulder. Big mistake. “He cut off my hand and said, ‘Don’t ever lay your hand on me.’ And I was like, ‘Holy shit, I’m going to fight with Denzel Washington.’ This is crazy.'” And if Washington can do such a good job that we at home feel intimidated by him as Frank Lucas, then it’s understandable that he was personally able to achieve this effect.

Especially when he’s at his best and maybe you’re not, as Brolin explained. “It’s Denzel Washington, man. It’s not easy – you’re just an actor they’re trying out to see if he’s the real thing or not.” But luckily Brolin seemed to know it was just a great actor doing his job: ” In his mind, he was just doing his job. He was that guy. He was Frank Lucas, period.”

The two managed to move past the moment with Brolin checking to see if Denzel was good and vice versa before quickly returning to his professionalism. Although we didn’t get the crazy story of how Denzel Washington and Josh Brolin got into a fight, some of that intensity can be felt in their performances in the film.

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