Much like co-star Viola Davis, Denzel Washington’s affinity for August Wilson’s Tony Award-winning play Fences stretches way back. Before taking the reins on the upcoming feature adaptation, Washington walked the boards alongside Davis for the original stage version, when both stars took home Tony awards for their respective performances.
And so, spurred by unanimous approval, Denzel Washington and Viola Davis will be bringing Fences to the moviegoing masses late next month, when the former will step into the grotty boots of Troy Maxon, a burnout patriarch and a “sanitation employee who once aspired to be a professional baseball player and now faces daily discrimination while coming to terms with his lost ambitions.” Left grappling with his shattered dreams, Maxon perseveres with the menial job to support his estranged son and loving wife, Rose (Davis).
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though, August Wilson’s story is one of hardship, embodied by Troy and Rose’s blue-collar workers. Ramping up the movie’s award credentials, we understand that Wilson adapted his own screenplay for Fences, with Jovan Adepo, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Russell Hornsby, Mykelti Williamson and Saniyya Sidney rounding out the core cast.
As is often the case, Christmas Day 2016 represents a crowded state of affairs in Hollywood. Not only will we be welcoming Denzel Washington’s Fences, but Academy voters will also be considering the likes of Hidden Figures, Martin Scorsese’s passion project Silence and Gold, the adventure film that will surely fire Matthew McConaughey into contention for the Best Actor gong.
