Denzel Washington is well-known for playing cops and detectives, so many of his most memorable movies see him working in law enforcement in some way. Some of the highlights of Denzel Washington’s career include Training Day, Inside Man and many other cop movies. While he has never allowed himself to be typecast, appearing in a wide variety of genres, Washington will always be associated with playing police officers.
Denzel Washingtons’s best movies often feature him as a cop. He has a commanding presence that fits these types of roles, but he is always able to bring something new to each movie which helps differentiate his characters. This means that even within the confines of the detective genre, Washington has shown his impressive range. Some of his cops are morose and noble, while others are comedic wildcards.
Related 10 Actors Who Are Great At Playing Cops & Detectives
Great cop movies need protagonists who are just as interesting as the cases they investigate, and the right actors can elevate these characters.
10 2 Guns (2013)
DEA Special Agent Bobby Trench
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2 Guns Where to Watch
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Director Baltasar Kormakur Release Date August 2, 2013 Cast Denzel Washington , Mark Wahlberg , Paula Patton , Bill Paxton , Edward James Olmos , Robert John Burke , James Marsden , Greg Sproles
Denzel Washington teams up with Mark Wahlberg in 2 Guns, a buddy-cop action-comedy based on the comic book of the same name. 2 Guns does very little to shake up the buddy-cop formula, but it still delivers plenty of violent delights and a good number of one-liners. The hook is that the two undercover cops are unaware of each other’s real identities, and it takes a while for them to figure things out.
2 Guns
had a lot of sequel potential, and it was a box office hit, but a second movie never materialized.
2 Guns gets a lot of comedic and dramatic mileage out of the game of bluff that takes place between the two men. Once they do finally get on the same page, the action kicks up a notch and they develop a surprisingly enjoyable dynamic. 2 Guns had a lot of sequel potential, and it was a box office hit, but a second movie never materialized.
9 The Magnificent Seven (2016)
US Marshal Sam Chisholm
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The Magnificent Seven
Director Antoine Fuqua Release Date September 23, 2016 Cast Haley Bennett , Chris Pratt2 , Ethan Hawke , Sean Bridgers , Vinnie Jones , Matt Bomer , Byung-hun Lee , Denzel Washington , Peter Sarsgaard , Vincent D’Onofrio , Cam Gigandet
The Magnificent Seven is a remake of the classic Western starring Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson, which in turn was inspired by Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai. Denzel Washington and director Anton Fuqua have collaborated a few times, but the Western genre is enough to shake up their familiar dynamic in The Magnificent Seven. Washington was reluctant to join the project at first, but he delivers a characteristically strong performance.
The Magnificent Seven
doesn’t live up to the high standards of the original, but it’s still an exciting actioner that shows a different side to Washington.
Washington plays a US Marshal who leads a group of misfits on a mission to liberate a small town which has been taken over by a violent and corrupt mining baron. Just like the original movie, the remake features a great sequence in which the leader of the group assembles his posse, and each member has their own reason for joining the fight. The Magnificent Seven doesn’t live up to the high standards of the original, but it’s still an exciting actioner that shows a different side to Washington.
8 The Little Things (2021)
Joe “Deke” Deacon
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The Little Things Where to Watch
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Director John Lee Hancock Release Date January 29, 2021 Cast Sofia Vassilieva , Isabel Arraiza , Stephanie Erb , Denzel Washington , Kerry O’Malley , Rami Malek , Jason James Richter , Terry Kinney , Adam J. Harrington , Jared Leto , Tom Hughes , Chris Bauer , Natalie Morales , Michael Hyatt Expand
The Little Things features Denzel Washington as an older, more reserved cop, weighed down by years of his own personal baggage. Deke is drawn into a murder investigation by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, but he soon partners up with Rami Malek’s younger, more anxious detective. The two cops make an unlikely pair, and there is plenty of friction at first. This conflict provides another layer of drama while they zero in on a suspect.
The Little Things
is an underrated mystery drama. It digs into the reality of justice and truth, propelled by three captivating performances and a sharp script.
The Little Things benefits from a chilling performance from Jared Leto as the murder suspect. He is detached and cold without being stereotypical, and the character always knows the right thing to say to sow the seed of doubt in the minds of his accusers. The Little Things is an underrated mystery drama. It digs into the reality of justice and truth, propelled by three captivating performances and a sharp script.
7 The Bone Collector (1999)
Lincoln Rhyme
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The Bone Collector Where to Watch
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Director Phillip Noyce Release Date November 5, 1999 Cast Denzel Washington , Angelina Jolie , Queen Latifah , Leland Orser , Michael Rooker
Denzel Washington has played so many cops in his career that The Bone Collector seems as though he’s purposely pushing his limits and doing something unexpected. Lincoln Rhyme is a quadriplegic forensics expert who directs a cop through her first big homicide investigation from his bed. Angeline Jolie plays Amelia Donaghy, and she has the perfect blend of naivety and resilience for the role.
Lincoln Rhyme’s condition could be seen as a gimmick to differentiate
The Bone Collector
from other detective movies, but the story uses it in interesting ways.
Lincoln Rhyme’s condition could be seen as a gimmick to differentiate The Bone Collector from other detective movies, but the story uses it in interesting ways. It also makes him extremely vulnerable when the case becomes more personal, and he finds himself under attack in his own bed. The Bone Collector is a dark mystery with many surprising twists, but what’s most interesting of all is the master and apprentice dynamic between the two main characters.
6 Fallen (1998)
Detective John Hobbes
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Fallen puts a supernatural twist on Denzel Washington’s standard formula of cop movies, and the result is a dark thriller that stands out among his list of credits. Although it was a box office bomb, making roughly $25 million on a budget almost twice as high, Fallen has slowly earned a cult following over the years. It wasn’t appreciated at the time, but Fallen is a thrilling supernatural mystery.
Fallen
buries the lede expertly, making it a pleasant surprise when the supernatural elements of the story come into view.
Washington stars alongside John Goodman, who plays his partner Jonesy. The two detectives set out to investigate a series of killings which they believe are the work of a copycat. Fallen buries the lede expertly, making it a pleasant surprise when the supernatural elements of the story come into view. The movie then ends on the perfect note, solving its major mystery but leaving plenty of unanswered questions about the future of the characters.
5 Déjà Vu (2006)
ATF Special Agent Douglas Carlin
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Déjà Vu
Director Tony Scott Release Date November 22, 2006 Cast Denzel Washington , Paula Patton , Val Kilmer , James Caviezel , Adam Goldberg , Elden Henson
Denzel Washington hasn’t appeared in many sci-fi movies, which makes Déjà Vu a rare oddity. The time-travel thriller has a flair for the ridiculous, but even its sillier moments are oddly charming. Déjà Vu commits to straight-faced sincerity, which makes it easy to get on board when it tries to provide flimsy scientific explanations for its time travel premise, or when an action scene erupts out of nowhere.
The time-travel thriller has a flair for the ridiculous, but even its sillier moments are oddly charming.
Déjà Vu uses the stark visual imagery of a New Orleans that has been ripped apart by Hurricane Katrina, and the movie is a fantasy about turning back time and preventing tragedy. However, with the plot revolving around a terrorist attack on American soil, it could also be interpreted as a response to the national trauma of 9/11. Ultimately, Déjà Vu stops short of fully exploring either of these ideas, opting instead for gloriously entertaining action and a hint of romance thrown in as a bonus.
4 The Mighty Quinn (1989)
Chief Xavier Quinn
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The Mighty Quinn was one of Denzel Washington’s very first cop movies, and it immediately showed that he had a knack for playing law enforcement. It’s possible that this particular career trend wouldn’t be so strong today if The Mighty Quinn hadn’t been such a hit. Washington stars as the police chief on an idyllic Caribbean island who tries to help his childhood best friend when he is suspected of murder.
The Mighty Quinn
is a hidden gem in Denzel Washington’s filmography.
The Mighty Quinn is a hidden gem in Denzel Washington’s filmography. The story is filled with cheeky humor and some uproarious slapstick, but the mystery elements are all extremely satisfying. Washington is magnetic from start to finish. He always has the charisma and the gravitas to play authority figures, but he balances this out with a tender charm that gets a lot of laughs.
3 Devil In A Blue Dress (1995)
Easy Rawlins
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Devil in a Blue Dress
Director Carl Franklin Release Date September 29, 1995 Cast Denzel Washington , Tom Sizemore , Jennifer Beals , Don Cheadle , Maury Chaykin , Terry Kinney , Mel Winkler , Albert Hall
Devil in a Blue Dress is a stylish neo-noir mystery set in Los Angeles shortly after the Second World War. While the period costumes, the music, and the atmosphere are all beautiful, Devil in a Blue Dress has an intriguing story to back up its style. Denzel Washington plays a man who needs a job who gets caught up in a murder investigation. Although he isn’t technically a cop, Easy Rawlins works as a private investigator.
While the period costumes, the music, and the atmosphere are all beautiful,
Devil in a Blue Dress
has an intriguing story to back up its style.
Devil in a Blue Dress examines the racial prejudices of post-war America, but it does so with a riveting story that remains entertaining throughout. Don Cheadle delivers a fine performance as Mouse, one of Easy’s least reputable associates, and some much-needed muscle to complement Easy’s brains. The mystery holds plenty of surprises, and Devil in a Blue Dress ends with a tantalizing sequel tease that suggests Easy and Mouse have many more cases in their future.
2 Inside Man (2006)
Detective Keith Frazier
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Denzel Washington and Spike Lee have brought the best out of one another with their collaborations, so it’s no surprise that the heist thriller Inside Man gives Washington one of his most memorable cop roles. He strikes up a delightful chemistry with Chiwetel Ejiofor as a duo of cops brought in to negotiate with a thief who has taken hostages inside a Manhattan bank.
The push-and-pull between Washington’s cop and Clive Owen’s reptilian bank robber is utterly absorbing, as each man tries to outwit the other.
Like any heist movie worth its salt, Inside Man is full of twists and turns. The push-and-pull between Washington’s cop and Clive Owen’s reptilian bank robber is utterly absorbing, as each man tries to outwit the other. Jodie Foster swoops in late in the game as a smooth and mysterious operator with her own agenda. She’s another distraction for the cops to deal with, but she proves to be pivotal to the shocking third act.
1 Training Day (2001)
Detective Alonzo Harris
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Training Day Where to Watch
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Director Antoine Fuqua Release Date October 5, 2001 Cast Eva Mendes , Ethan Hawke , Denzel Washington , Scott Glenn , Cliff Curtis
Denzel Washington won his second Oscar for his performance in Training Day, and it remains one of his very best movies. Washington so often plays the hero, especially when he’s a cop or some other law enforcement figure, but Training Day subverts his noble persona. As a result, Alonzo Harris is an unforgettable character, with the status and respect of a hero, but the actions of a twisted villain.
Washington so often plays the hero, especially when he’s a cop or some other law enforcement figure, but
Training Day
subverts his noble persona.
Training Day takes place over the course of a whirlwind 24 hours as Washington’s streetwise veteran puts a younger cop through his paces. While he tries to manipulate Ethan Hawke’s character into agreeing with his warped, pessimistic view of justice, he also tests his loyalty and gaslights him into being complicit in his criminal acts. Training Day is filled with great quotes, including plenty of fun wisecracks from Alonzo that highlight his jaded indifference.