Netflix’s new cinematic gem, The Piano Lesson, spins a chilling tale of siblings locked in a battle over a treasured family heirloom.
Adapted from August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play, the film is set against the backdrop of the 1930s. It delves into the saga of the Charles family as they grapple with the destiny of their ancestral piano, which bears carvings that narrate their lineage.
Adding to the drama’s allure is its production team, which keeps it all in the Washington family. John David, Denzel Washington’s eldest, takes on the role of Boy Willie, while his brother Malcolm steps up as director and co-writer.
Their sister Katia joins the ranks as an executive producer, alongside their father Denzel, who also produces.
John David may be recognized for his roles in major films like Christopher Nolan’s box office sensation Tenet, yet his life encompasses more than just leading roles, reports the Mirror.
Despite being the son of a Hollywood heavyweight, he enjoyed a down-to-earth upbringing. Reflecting on the family’s dynamics in a chat with Esquire, Denzel shared a playful memory.
He reminisced: “Malcolm used to beat everybody in Monopoly. They wouldn’t play him. He walked around with a Monopoly set and John David wouldn’t ever play because Malcolm would always want to be the bank. Nobody could beat him or even wanted to beat him.”
Born in 1984 to the renowned acting duo, Denzel and Paulette Washington (nee Pearson), John David Washington didn’t initially follow his parents’ path into the film industry. Instead, the now 40-year-old set his sights on college football.
During his university years, he was picked up by several teams and even had a stint in the NFL Europe League for a Dusseldorf-based team.
However, in 2015, he finally stepped into his father’s shoes and made his mark in the acting world.
Yet, he didn’t entirely abandon his sporting roots, as he landed a role in HBO’s comedy series Ballers. The show follows Dwayne Johnson as a retired NFL player and John David as a self-absorbed player.
Despite Ballers being his breakout role, it wasn’t his first time on the silver screen. At the tender age of seven, he featured in Spike Lee’s critically acclaimed biopic Malcolm X, with his father playing the titular revolutionary activist.
According to Lee, this film ignited John David’s career, even though he didn’t take on another role for many years.
Once he returned to acting, however, his career took off at lightning speed. In 2018, he starred in another impactful Spike Lee biopic, BlacKkKlansman, where he played a black police officer who infiltrates a local Ku Klux Klan chapter.
In 2020, the actor continued his trend of collaborating with esteemed directors when he took on the lead role in Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, alongside Robert Pattinson.
Spike Lee vividly remembered the moment he believes John David was chosen for Tenet, detailing in Time magazine in 2021, “When Christopher Nolan, my cinema brother, saw the film [BlacKkKlansman] at Cannes, I think I saw tears in his eyes.
“Then-BOOMSHOCKALOCKA! J.D was cast as the lead in Nolan’s Tenet. When J.D appears in his New Netflix film Malcolm and Marie in February, people will be Hooting and Hollering for our new matinee idol, our new Dark Gable. The Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Like Father, like Son. Amen.”
John David has since risen to fame with his roles in Malcolm and Marie by Sam Levinson, Beckett directed by Ferdinando Cito Filomarino, Amsterdam by David O. Russell, and The Creator from Gareth Edwards.
Though he’s been a public figure for nearly ten years, John David has kept his personal life under wraps. He famously stated on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2018 about his personal life, confessing that he is “Single AF.”
The Piano Lesson is available to stream on Netflix