Denzel Washington is still searching for his third Oscar win, and one of his best partnerships can help him if the Academy stops ignoring them. Heading into the 2025 Oscars season, there was a firm belief that Denzel Washington would be a major factor. His performance as Macrinus in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II was viewed as one of the sequel’s best components. Since the original Gladiator was a huge Oscar performer, there was an expectation that the sequel would get some attention, including a nomination for Denzel. That ultimately did not happen.

The Oscars 2025 nominations came and went without Denzel Washington’s name being called. He was left out of Best Supporting Actor even after getting nominations earlier in the awards season. With Gladiator II and Denzel’s Ridley Scott reunion failing to get him the Oscars attention he deserves, his hopes of winning another golden statue now rely on upcoming projects. This includes his new movie with Spike Lee. While that partnership would suggest Oscar glory on paper, the reality is a bit bleaker as Denzel Washington seeks another nomination and hopeful win.

Denzel Washington Hasn’t Won An Oscar In 23 Years

He’s Had Four Nominations Since Then

There is an overall oddity to Denzel Washington’s struggles to get a third Oscar win. He won his first two over a 12-year span; he won Best Supporting Actor for Glory in 1990 and Best Actor for Training Day in 2002. Denzel secured four nominations during this stretch, winning half of them. That’s a pretty great track record with the Academy, but he fell off in a major way afterward. It’s been 23 years since Denzel Washington won an Oscar. That’s a staggering statistic, considering he won his two Oscars during the first 25 years of his acting career.

The lack of another Denzel Washington Oscar win is also confusing since he’s had opportunities to win. He received Best Actor nominations for Flight, Fences, Roman J. Israel, Esq., and The Tragedy of Macbeth. Those four nominations came in less than a decade. Gladiator II would have given Denzel five nominations in only 12 years. That’s almost identical to the actor receiving his first five Oscar nominations in 14 years. The major difference, though, is that Denzel won two Oscars during that earlier run and hasn’t been victorious as of late.

While Denzel was unlikely to win the Oscar for each of his last four nominations, there is an argument to be made he should have in some years. The fact that he keeps falling short or being ignored from nominations suggests the Academy is waiting for a truly special performance and film to give him this recognition again. After all, only seven actors have three Oscar wins or more. Denzel had a chance to join them with Gladiator II or any of these previously nominated performances but failed to do so. Now, it’s up to Spike Lee to help him.

Denzel Washington’s Next Chance For An Oscar Is Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest

Denzel Washington & Spike Lee Reunite For Their Fifth Movie

Denzel Washington only has a few movies already in development. While those тιтles include a Hannibal movie with Antoine Fuqua and a role in Black Panther 3, the next project for him is Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest. The film is a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 film High & Low. Filming for Lee and Washington’s reimagining finished in mid 2024, with A24 planning to give the movie a 2025 theatrical release. That positions Highest 2 Lowest as the next movie Denzel Washington will be in.

As a result, the next Denzel Washington and Spike Lee movie is the actor’s next chance to get an Oscar nomination. It’s far too early to truly know what the 2026 Oscars lineup will look like, but there’s always a chance for an actor of Denzel’s caliber to enter the equation. That should be especially true when he’s working with a director like Spike Lee. It could also be to Denzel’s benefit that Highest 2 Lowest puts him back in the lead role, as he’s only been an Oscar nominee in Best Actor since winning Best Supporting Actor in 1990.

Denzel Washington Has Only Received 1 Oscar Nomination Working With Spike Lee

Spike Lee’s Movies Don’t Typically Become Serious Oscars Contenders

Highest 2 Lowest will be the fifth time that the star and director work together, but that partnership has only brought Denzel Washington any Oscars recognition once before. Malcolm X is the only Spike Lee movie for which Denzel received an Oscar nomination. Despite the brilliance of his performance, he did not win Best Actor that year, losing to Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman. Their three other movies together – Mo’ Better Blues, He Got Game, and The Inside Man – were completely ignored by the Oscars. Malcolm X only had one other Oscar nomination beyond Denzel’s performance.

The reality is that most of Spike Lee’s movies do not get Oscars recognition. His last movie, Da 5 Bloods, only got one Oscar nomination despite being viewed as a strong contender in several categories. BlacKkKlansman earned six Oscar nominations, the most ever for one of Spike Lee’s movies. He even won an Oscar for his screenplay. Otherwise, Do the Right Thing got two Oscar nominations, but none of his other movies got recognition. That helps put into perspective that Denzel’s Oscar nomination for Malcolm X is quite impressive based on the Academy’s history with Spike Lee movies.

Highest 2 Lowest Has An Uphill Climb To Get Denzel Washington His Third Oscar

Will Denzel Washington Win An Oscar In 2026?

All this suggests Highest 2 Lowest is not the surefire bet to get Denzel Washington an Oscar nomination or win that it could be. Oscars history is against Denzel in this regard. He’s already only one of three actors who have received acting Oscar nominations for a Spike Lee movie. The other two are Adam Driver for BlacKkKlansman and Danny Aiello for Do The Right Thing. The kicker is that none of them have won. Denzel Washington could still become the first actor to receive two Oscar nominations from Spike Lee movies, but his odds of winning are greatly diminished.

The other factor against Highest 2 Lowest could be the specific genre. The movie is expected to be more of a crime thriller, similar to Lee’s Inside Man, which was completely ignored by the Oscars. This isn’t necessarily an Oscars-bait drama, although Spike Lee will surely infuse it with some social commentary. If he does it well enough and makes Highest 2 Lowest a similarly popular and acclaimed film like BlacKkKlansman, then perhaps Denzel’s odds of a nomination will increase.

The best argument to be made for Denzel Washington winning his third Oscar with Highest 2 Lowest is the possibility of it being one of his last Oscar-caliber films. He’s got Black Panther 3 and two more The Equalizer sequels in the works, as well as another historical epic. With the actor constantly teasing his eventual retirement, there’s a limited number of opportunities for the Academy to recognize him once more. If his retirement becomes more imminent following Highest 2 Lowest‘s release, that could help Denzel Washington win an Oscar once more.