Denzel Washingtonhas made quite a few action movies over the course of his acting career, and they all range in strength. Denzel Washington is one of the most talented working actors in Hollywood, and as such, he’s played all types of roles. From the soaring drama ofThe Tragedy of Macbethto the comedy ofCarbon Copy, Washington can handle almost any type of character. One genre he’s been particularly prolific in, however, is action, and he has played quite a few heroes and villains over the years.
Ranking Denzel Washington’s action heroes by strength isn’t an entirely straightforward task. Many ofWashington’s best action movieshad him play characters that weren’t traditional action heroes, yet they displayed quite a bit of strength. Physical strength, then, isn’t enough to make a character strong, and other factors like morals, bravery, and convictions have to be taken into consideration too. With that in mind, these 15 characters are Denzel Washington’s strongest action heroes.
Every Denzel Washington Movie, Ranked Worst To Best
With a career spanning over four decades, Denzel Washington has long become a household name, and here are all of his movies, ranked.
15Matt Lee Whitlock - Out Of Time
Out of Timeis a rare movie for Denzel Washington: though he plays the main character in an action movie, Matt Whitlock isn’t much of a hero.Out of Time, up until its final minutes, is a kind of comedy of errors. Everything Matt did was just a reaction to an earlier bad decision he made.Additionally, all of Matt’s most memorable scenes - like counting the bullets in Chris' gun - were due to his intelligence, not his strength. The fight scenes he does get into were often stumbling messes rather than shows of strength as well. Matt was just anothercop role played by Denzel Washington.
Out of Timeis available to stream on Max.
14Alonzo - Training Day
Denzel Washington’s character inTraining Day, Alonzo, is far from a hero, but he is an action star.ThroughoutTraining Day, Alonzo proved he was incredibly capable at intimidation, extortion, and several other dubious practices, which are technically forms of strength. However, he was also a dirty cop and a bad man, which secures him a place very near the bottom in terms of Washington’s other action heroes. Regardless, however, Alonzo is one ofWashington’s most iconic characters, and the Oscar he won for Best Actor forTraining Dayproves it.
Training Day
Cast
Denzel Washington and Alonzo Harris star in Training Day, an action thriller that follows the two stars as Los Angeles narcotics officers. Jake Hoyt is prepping on his first major training day for a promotion as he spends spend a tense twenty-four hours across several L.A. crime-ridden neighborhoods as Jake sees the danger and horrors of the job.
13Bobby - 2 Guns
In almost the exact opposite situation asTraining Day, Washington played a good cop who was undercover as a criminal in2 Guns.Washington’s Bobby worked with Stig (Mark Wahlberg) to take down a drug kingpin and eventually expose a massive government conspiracy.2 Gunsput Bobby and Stig into several intense gunfights that proved how strong Bobby was in combat, but he also had quite a bit of help from Stig, which limits how high he can be placed on Washington’s list. That being said, Bobby also proved his strength in a few other ways, like brushing off a gunshot wound to the arm fairly easily and continuing his search.
2 Guns
2 Guns follows a DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who unknowingly investigate each other while trying to infiltrate a mob organization. They discover they’ve been set up and must confront the criminals they thought they were stealing from.
12John Creasy - Man On Fire
Though not nearly as villainous as Alonzo inTraining Day, Washington’s character inMan on Firehas more than his fair share of baggage. Washington played John Creasy inMan on Fire, a former CIA operative who was suffering from alcoholism and suicidal thoughts.What makes Creasy strong is the fact that he overcame his dark past so that he could help someone who needed him: Pita, a young girl who was kidnapped. Creasy was also an extremely effective warrior, and his ultimate sacrifice at the end ofMan on Firealso went a long way in showing just how strong his character was.
Man on Fire
Man on Fire is a drama thriller directed by Tony Scott, featuring Denzel Washington as John Creasy, a burned-out ex-CIA operative turned bodyguard. He is hired to protect a young girl, Pita Ramos, played by Dakota Fanning, in Mexico City. As Creasy develops a bond with Pita, he is driven to exact vengeance when she is abducted, showcasing a relentless pursuit for justice against those responsible.
11Parker Barnes - Virtuosity
Keeping up what seemed to be a trend of morally ambiguous protagonists, Denzel Washington played Parker Barnes inVirtuosity. While Barnes was imprisoned for murder, he managed to be a bit stronger in the morality department than Creasy was, as he killed a terrorist who had executed his own family.Barnes also proved quite physically and mentally strong, asVirtuositypitted him against SID (Russel Crowe), a sentient computer program made up of the most evil minds in history. Barnes needed quite a bit of strength to beat SID, a feat he barely managed to accomplish.
Virtuosity
Virtuosity is a science fiction thriller featuring a virtual reality entity, SID 6.7, created from over 150 serial killers. When this dangerous AI escapes into the real world, a former cop is tasked with stopping it, navigating a deadly game of cat-and-mouse to protect innocent lives.
10Keith Frazier - Inside Man
In keeping withMan on FireandVirtuosity, Denzel Washington’s character inInside Manisn’t morally perfect, but he did show quite a bit of strength.InInside Man, Washington played Keith Frazier, a troubled detective tasked with stopping a bank heist led by Dalton Russel (Clive Owens). While there aren’t many (real) firefights in the movie, Frazier still managed to show his resolve. He had the strength to continue his investigation even after the rest of the authorities had given up, and he even proved himself strong enough to stand up to his superiors in search of the truth.
Inside Man
Inside Man, directed by Spike Lee, follows Detective Keith Frazier as he navigates a tense hostage situation in a Manhattan bank taken over by an armed, masked gang. Amidst negotiations, Frazier also contends with personal challenges involving corruption allegations, adding complexity to the unfolding drama.
9Chisholm - The Magnificent Seven
Though his character wears a black hat throughoutThe Magnificent Seven, Washington’s Chisholm is one of his strongest action protagonists. Chisholm was a U.S. Marshall who helped protect the town of Rose Creek, and he was essentially a mix of some of the strongest Western heroes and gunslingers ever.Chisholm was quick with a gun, smart, and incredibly strong, as evidenced by the fact that he was one of the few fighters who survived to see the end ofThe Magnificent Seven. He also had quite a bit of moral strength as a servant of the law and protector of the innocent.
The Magnificent Seven
The Magnificent Seven, released in 2016, follows bounty hunter Sam Chisolm as he gathers a diverse team of gunslingers to help the residents of Rose Creek, who are threatened by the tyrannical industrialist Bartholomew Bogue. As tensions escalate, the seven mercenaries engage in a fierce battle, defending the town’s inhabitants.
8Walter Garber - The Taking Of Pelham 123
Though Denzel Washington has played plenty of traditionally strong action heroes in his career, one of his most unconventional heroes is among the strongest. InThe Taking of Pelham 123, Washington played an ostensibly ordinary man named Walter Garber.After Ryder (John Travolta) took a train hostage, Garber was thrust into the middle of a dangerous situation, but he handled himself extremely well. Garber was also an interesting character because he wasn’t perfect: he had accepted a bribe, but he proved that he always had good intentions and was a committed family man, which takes quite a bit of non-physical strength.
The Taking of Pelham 123
Denzel Washington and John Travolta star in The Taking of Pelham 123, a thriller where train dispatcher Walter Garber tries to negotiate with terrorist Ryder Ford, who hijacks a subway car in New York and demands a ransom. The 2009 film is a remake of the 1974 movie of the same name.
7Frank - Unstoppable
LikeThe Taking of Pelham 123, Denzel Washington doesn’t play a typical action hero inUnstoppable.Instead, he took the role of Frank Barnes, a railroad engineer who had to stop a runaway train with the help of Will Colson (Chris Pine). While there aren’t any gunfights or traditional action sequences inUnstoppable, Barnes was still quite a strong hero. A runaway train is extremely dangerous, and Barnes showed great courage several times in his attempts to stop it, such as when he tried to manually engage each car’s handbrakes.
Unstoppable
Unstoppable is an action thriller directed by Tony Scott, starring Denzel Washington and Chris Pine. The film follows a veteran engineer and a young conductor as they race against time to stop an unmanned, runaway train carrying hazardous materials. Set against a backdrop of high-stakes tension, the film explores themes of bravery and quick thinking under pressure.
6Doug Carlin - Déjà Vu
Very few of Denzel Washington’s movies are as mind-bending asDéjà Vu. In that film, Washington plays Doug Carlin, an ATF agent who travels back in time to prevent a terrorist bombing and save Claire (Paula Patton), who was killed in the blast. Carlin mostly relies on his brains and detective skills for most ofDéjà Vu, so what really makes him such a strong character is his bravery.At the end of the film, Carlin sacrifices himself to save the ferry, which is an incredible display of bravery, even if he managed to come back through some time travel logic.
Déjà Vu
Déjà Vu, directed by Tony Scott, follows Federal agent Doug Carlin, who investigates a deadly explosion on a New Orleans ferry. Utilized by a secret government lab, a time-altering surveillance device becomes key to preventing the crime, leading Carlin into unforeseen complexities of time and reality.
