When it comes to building on-screen chemistry, the cast of “Highest 2 Lowest” took a page straight out of the sports playbook, and director Spike Lee was their coach.
“He lets us run our own plays here and there, you know, improvise a little bit and try to fill in,” actor Jeffrey Wright told NBC Sports’ Adriana Ferrari. “You know, we set up the… offense, if you will, and then just let us do our thing.”
Denzel Washington, who has worked with Lee on five films beginning with 1992’s “Malcolm X” in which Washington earned his first Best Actor nomination at the Academy Awards, said his longtime friend “picks good players.”
“And, you know, that’s the key,” Washington told NBC Sports. “Pick good players and let them do what they’re good at.”
Washington and Wright share the screen in the film, with their characters forming a dynamic reminiscent of a coach-player duo. Washington explained that the foundation was in the script, but Lee’s directing style gave them freedom to make it their own.
The project also gave Wright the rare chance to act alongside his own son, Elijah Wright.
“Sometimes that I fall back into certain habits … little tricks that I have developed over time that aren’t necessarily that fresh,” said Wright, who was nominated for Best Actor at the 96th Academy Awards for “American Fiction.”
He said Elijah “had no tricks” in his performance in “Highest 2 Lowest,” a remake of the 1963 Japanese film “High and Low.”
“He’s just come in straight and I found myself having to step up a little bit because he was so easy, so natural and grounded and subtle,” Wright said of acting alongside his son. “I was like, ‘Oh, man, I got… to be real here’ … He was pushing me a little bit. He was pushing me. I have to say.”
Actor and lifelong Washington Football fan Jeffrey Wright goes in depth about his experience as a fan from childhood to 2024.
While the film boasts cameos from both music and sports, Washington, a well-known Los Angeles Lakers fan, said there wasn’t much time for celebrity catch-ups on set.
“I didn’t see Rick much on set… I’m there to work,” he noted when asked about reuniting with former Lakers forward Rick Fox.
New York City also plays a prominent role in the film, and Lee’s deep roots in the city brought its character to life. “Needless to say, Spike is old New York and knows how to give us the best and the worst of New York… as a backdrop for us,” Washington said.
That backdrop stirred some nostalgia. “I was just over wondering why they tore down the old Yankee Stadium,” Wright said.
“Highest 2 Lowest” releases in select theaters on Aug. 15, with plans for the film to stream on AppleTV+ on Sept. 5.
Denzel Washington and Jeffrey Wright, stars of the new Spike Lee film “Highest 2 Lowest” set in New York City, look back on the old Yankee Stadium, which closed in 2008.
