In ‘The Piano Lesson,’ John David Washington Faces His Fears

The Piano Lesson stars Denzel Washington’s son John David and is directed by his other son, Malcolm. But the film is no mere adventure in nepotism. John David, playing the same role in this adaptation as he did in a recent Broadway revival of August Wilson’s play, is a voluble storm in the film, joining his father as another sharp interpreter of Wilson’s kinetic poetry.

Vanity Fair’s Little Gold Men podcast recently caught up with John David on his whirlwind press tour for the film, sitting down with the actor for a special live event at New York City’s Perelman Performing Arts Center—a recently opened multipurpose event space located right next door to VF’s One World Trade Center offices in Manhattan’s financial district. Washington and LGM were there as part of PAC’s Icons of Culture Festival, an inaugural event celebrating influential artists of all disciplines.

John David is indeed a disciplined artist, still in the process of honing his craft as part of a remarkable professional second act. He began his working life as a pro footballer, playing the game in Europe and in the UFL, the former minor league. Though his acting career already has some very bright highlights, he says that doing The Piano Lesson on the Broadway stage felt like a real make-or-break moment.

“That’s what the play served for me,” he tells LGM. “I can go toe-to-toe with my fears, because this is the scariest it’s ever going to get—being onstage, spitting August Wilson’s words to a bunch of people that came to pay their good money to see if you’re any good. And I felt like my career would be over, and I’m not being hyperbolic, or I’m not being dramatic. I was like, If this doesn’t work, I’m going to have to look for another line of work.”

David Canfield, Richard Lawson, and John David WashingtonPhoto by Peter Cooper.

It all panned out in the end, leading to much of the cast signing on to do the film version of the production—this time directed by John David’s kid brother. But that family connection didn’t mean the actor took the project any less seriously. “I was ready to run through a brick wall for my director,” he says of his commitment to the piece, which was well matched by his sibling’s. “What I learned about my brother during that experience was how in control he was, how he was really born to do this.”

Judging by the film, multiple scions of the Washington family are to the manner born—yet all remain refreshingly humble despite their rocket ship success and, of course, hereditary legacy. That is an exceedingly rare quality these days.

You can listen to the entirety of LGM’s conversation with John David Washington above, or wherever you listen to podcasts.