Were talking about faith.
Not religious, per se; Shakespeares great tragedy turns on themes of love and jealousy and betrayal.
Theyve fought together, trusted each other with their lives.
WHISPER CAMPAIGNJake Gyllenhaal and Denzel Washington star inOthello, which runs on Broadway through June 8, 2025. Photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Sittings Editor: Eric McNealVogue, May 2025.
He knows this is a man with a great sense of faith and love.
Mm-hm, adds Washington.
Meanwhile, hes picked up a thick binder and is flicking through it.
CREATIVE COUNCILGyllenhaal and Washington withOthello’s director, Broadway veteran Kenny Leon.
But Iago also knows, Desdemonathats something new for Othello.
Which makes him vulnerable.
Hes been at war, adds Gyllenhaal.
Seven years of war, adds Washington, citing the play.
So thats his biography, right there.
Thats where hes comfortable.
I feel like Im in college.
This is what we do.
Its the bestgoing around and around, trying to figure out, who are these people?
What makes them do what they do?
Washington holds up his binder.
Talking about faiththats actually the first thing I wrote down, he says.
If she be false, O, then heaven mocks itself!
Ill not believe it!
I dont feel like Im in college anymore.
A different, dreamier smile plays over Washingtons face as he quotes from elsewhere in the play.
For know Iago, but that I love the gentle Desdemona…
Returning to himself, Washington grins, forms a finger pistol and aims it at Gyllenhaal.
Finally catching up with this guy!
Id never done Shakespeare, he explains.
But honestly, I didnt know:canI do it?
Sort of… he assents, somewhat skeptical of the analogy.
Youre learning a language.
And that top layer of, what does this mean?
But youre used to this, the words dont get in your way, notes Gyllenhaal.
Sometimes youll have this sort of explosion of inspiration from the word when you hear it, says Gyllenhaal.
And sometimes you keep it as simple as you possibly can.
Well, Washington offers with a shrug.
sometimes the line is just Shakespeares version of get out of here.
CREATIVE COUNCILGyllenhaal and Washington withOthellos director, Broadway veteran Kenny Leon.
For Washington,Othellois a homecoming.
And Im like, oh man, I wish, but Im too old now.
Shes sheltered; Othello is a man of the world.
Thats what they say, right?
Its an honor just to be in the room.
But you cant just be awestruckyou have to do your job and be a good scene partner.
Of course, being a little awestruck helps, when depicting someone in love.
At the start of the play, Othello and Desdemona are utterly dazzled by each other.
Were still finding it, says Osborne.
She sees his pain as part of what makes him beautiful.
But maybe that also means shes in denial of his darkness.
As is common these days, Leon has time-shiftedOthelloout of Renaissance-era Venice and Cyprus.
I wanted humanity, not some mustache-twirling villain.
Resentment about being passed over for promotion?
No explanation is sufficient.
Or thats one interpretation.
At war, these two men, it was like they were one person, Washington interjects.
And then they get to Venice and he meets Desdemona and Im losing it, Gyllenhaal concludes.
Its easy to say Othello is gullible, adds Washington.
No, no, nohe trusts this man more than he trusts anyone in theworld.
He trusts him with hislife.
In so doing, he establishes a competing conspiracy, and the men draw closer.
I am your own forever, Iago vows in Act III, marriage-like.
The play doesnt work if Othello and Iago dont read as authentically intimate.
Judging by the easy rapport between Washington and Gyllenhaal, they wont struggle to find that camaraderie onstage.
Weve been asking ourselves, who was Othello, who was Iagobeforethe wars?
Thats a part of the play that speaks directly to today, he goes on.
You send these men and these women out to fight for freedom, theyre going to come back changed.
This is a play about the struggles of all time, he says.
But becoming grist for hot takes is very much not the point.
Shakespeare wrote this play more than four hundred years ago.
This is about our time on the planet.
And anyway, theres something aboutOthellothat rebuffs reduction.
Its justlove is love.
Washington echoes this syntax when he details what Leon is seeking from his actors performances.
No pinkies up, no Shakespearean acting, I dont even know what that is.
You think thats what people were like four hundred years ago?
You think thats how they went around the corner to get coffee?
No, Washington posits, shaking his head.
And the truth is the truth.
That’s what Kenny says,the truth is the truth.
A surrender to the sublime mysteries of the human heart.
I keep watching him, thinking, how do I do that?
Because its not as simple as keep it simple, Gyllenhaal says, peering at Washington.
And then the answer is justbe great.
Thats it, be great.
Washington breaks into a belly laugh, wags a finger at Gyllenhaal.
Look at you, ready for opening night…youre Iago-ing me already.
Produced by: AL Studio; Set Design: Jason Beaucourt.
