Denzel Washington Did Not Pay Attention To The Superstitions Surrounding 'Macbeth'

In 'The Tragedy of Macbeth', a new adaptation of William Shakespeare's 400-year-old drama, Hollywood actor Denzel Washington plays one of Shakespeare's most famous characters.

Directed by Joel Coen, its a black-and-white film adaptation of the tragedy about a Scottish general who, spurred on by his wife, commits murder to gain access to the throne.

As reported by the Indian Express, the actor said "It just so happens as fate would have it I've never seen it. I wasn't avoiding it. I just hadn't seen it.” I was fortunate in that Joel and Fran and myself got together close to a year out from shooting and we started reading scenes together. We got to get into the material and ask questions and bounce off of each other and act a little bit and see how we all work together."

"That's pressure, huh? Can you imagine that - someone walks up (and says) 'Look, it's been a great play for 400 years. Don't mess it up. Good luck," Washington, who previously starred in a production of Shakespeare's "Othello", joked.

He further said, "I didn't feel that pressure. It was going to be a good play, whether I messed it up or not. It'll continue to be and it's open to interpretation. That's the great thing about Shakespeare ... it's been done every which way you can. So this was Joel's idea."

Known as 'The Scottish Play', 'Macbeth'  is surrounded by superstition, something Washington said he “didn’t pay much attention to”.

“The list is too long … Every day there’s another thing you’re not supposed to do or something.”

The 'Equalizer' franchise's third chapter, directed by Antoine Fuqua, was recently announced by Washington.  In an interview with Collider, "They have written the third 'Equalizer', so I’m scheduled to do that.” he said.