Are Samuel L. Jackson and Denzel Washington friends?

Hollywood  icons Samuel L. Jackson and Denzel Washington have been friends for over 40 years.

Samuel L. Jackson shared that in his early career, he was part of a “community” of actors who helped each other.

During an episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Samuel L. Jackson recalled his friendships with Denzel Washington, Wesley Snipes, and other actors.

“We were all together. That was a huge community of us, you know. It wasn’t just Denzel and Wesley,” Jackson said.

“We all succeeded at a different pace,” he added. “It’s like Denzel, you know, left and did St. Elsewhere, and then he became a movie star.”

“And then Wesley left and became this huge big action star for a while with Sylvester Stallone and all these other guys. And then the rest of us were toiling in New York doing theater, and then all of a sudden I did Jungle Fever and I entered Hollywood.”

During the 2022 Oscars, Denzel Washington presented his esteemed colleague and friend, Samuel L. Jackson, with his first Academy Award of Merit at the 12th annual Governors Awards.