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.

SMU (6-2) shot 55% from the field in the second half, and going a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line in outscoring Washington State 50-29 after the intermission.

SMU missed its first nine shots on Wednesday, and shot just 31% from the field in the first half in the Acrisure Holiday Invitational championship game against Washington State.

But in what felt like a tale of two halves, the Mustangs managed to find their way back and cruise to a decisive 77-60 win over the Cougars inside Acrisure Arena.

“We just started throwing it into our bigs and our bigs began making plays,” SMU senior guard Boopie Miller said. “They threw it back out to us when (WSU) came to trap and our shots started falling.”

College basketball continues inside Acrisure Arena on Thursday, with four men’s games. The day starts with TCU taking on Santa Clara and will continue with Washington facing Colorado State, USC meeting Saint Mary’s and New Mexico matching up with Arizona State in the Acrisure Classic.

On Tuesday, in the Acrisure Invitational title game, SMU turned a game that they trailed at halftime into what looked like an easy victory, at least at the end.

SMU (6-2) shot 55% from the field in the second half, and going a perfect 13-of-13 from the free throw line in outscoring Washington State 50-29 after the intermission.

“There’s going to be games like this,” Miller said. “But we’ve just got to keep believing in ourselves and in our shots and just lock them up on defense and I think we did that tonight.”

SMU held Washington State (6-2) to 37% from the field for the game and 30% from beyond the arc.

Miller led all scorers with 16 points in the game. A day earlier, his game-winning shot lifted the Mustangs over Cal Baptist inside Acrisure Arena.

Nate Calmese led Washington State with 15 points.

The Mustangs won’t play again until Tuesday against Alabama State. Washington State will play at Nevada on Monday.

This week marked the first time both teams played inside Acrisure Arena. Miller said that it’s been a fun experience coming out to the desert to play in what he thinks will be a worthwhile experience for teams in the future.

“It’s amazing out here, man,” Miller said. “I’m a kid from Chicago, so just coming out here and exploring the world out here is amazing to me and I know my teammates appreciate it, too.”

Andrew John covers sports for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.

The No. 1 Oregon football team will once again be a double-digit favorite at home Saturday before its matchup against Washington at Autzen Stadium.

The Ducks (11-0, 8-0 Big Ten) are looking to remain the only unbeaten team in college football while the Huskies (6-5, 4-4 Big Ten) will look to spoil the home team’s senior day.

Saturday’s 4:30 p.m. game will air on NBC.

At BetMGM, as of Wednesday, the Ducks are a 18.5-point favorite. Oregon is -1,000 on the moneyline while Washington is +650. The over/under (point total) is set at 50.5.

The matchup predictor provided by ESPN Analytics has Oregon with an 89% chance to beat Washington.

Projection: Ducks win by 18.3 points

“Oregon is just a way better team, really complete team, we saw them struggle against Wisconsin … but back’s against the wall, they got it done. That’s what a lot of teams have not done this season, they’ve lost those games. I’m not worried about it, I think Oregon will cover.”

Pick: Oregon to cover -19.5 (spread at time of recording)

“Oregon’s main objective here is to win and remain healthy ahead of its date with Ohio State for the Big Ten Championship. Beating Washington by 20-30 points or running up the score in the fourth quarter likely isn’t on the mind of this team or coaching staff.”

Pick: Oregon’s team total under 36.5

Pick: Oregon wins

“This game means a lot. Washington beat them twice last year, it doesn’t matter if none of those players are there anymore, that helmet looks the same. Washington’s 0-4 on the road this year and three of those losses have come by 14-plus. Oregon is coming off a bye, the indicators are all pointing down for Washington.”

Alec Dietz covers University of Oregon football, volleyball, women’s basketball and baseball for The Register-Guard. You may reach him at adietz@registerguard.com and you can follow him on X @AlecDietz.

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