Denzel Washington is trying to process the death of Sidney Poitier.
The legendary and trailblazing actor, who was the first Black male actor to win an Academy Award, died last week at the age of 94.
“I haven’t had time to reflect,” Washington said Tuesday on Today. “You know, we had a 40-some-odd-year relationship, so I’m still digesting all of that and he was the beacon. He was the one we all followed and it was an honor to be able to call him a friend.”
Poitier was the first Black actor nominated for an Oscar for best actor, for the 1958 film “The Defiant Ones.” He would become the first Black actor to win an Oscar when he broke through in the best actor field in 1964 for “Lilies of the Field.”
A Black actor would not win best actor again until Washington himself did it in 2002 for “Training Day,” although he did win a best supporting actor Academy Award for “Glory” in 1990.
While accepting his trophy for “Training Day,” Washington made sure to shine a light on Poitier, who was on hand at the ceremony to receive an honorary Academy Award.
“Forty years, I’ve been chasing Sidney. They finally give it to me. What do they do? They give it to him the same night,” he joked.
“I’ll always be chasing you, Sidney. I’ll always be following in your footsteps. There’s nothing I would rather do, sir. Nothing I would rather do.”