Audiences are going to witness a truly intriguing pairing of actors, as ASAP Rocky and Denzel Washington are starring in Highest 2 Lowest. The film is the latest “joint” from director Spike Lee, who teams up with Washington again after their other iconic collaborations. That’s exciting, but the prospect of the former sharing the screen with Rocky is tantalizing as well. Ahead of the 2025 movie schedule entry’s release, the rapper opened up about working with Washington and why it was humrously challenging.
The “Sundress” artist took some time to chat with Variety about his upcoming A24 movies, If I Could Kick You and the aforementioned Lee flick. When talk turned to Highest 2 Lowest, Washington’s name was mentioned, and ASAP Rocky discussed how thrilling it was to be his scene partner. However, it would seem that the gig was also a bit challenging for Rocky, as he had to contain his personal fandom:
It was like a fucking dream come true. But trust me, it was difficult to not fan the fuck out every millisecond of the fucking duration. It was crazy — it’s fucking Denzel, man. I don’t give a fuck how successful [I am]: I’m always gonna be a student and a fan of certain people, and I’m always going to give them their flowers. I’m never going to be too big to be able to say that I had to hold my composure from not fanning out.
Honestly, I feel like a number of us would probably be starstruck by just running into Denzel Washington on the street let alone working with him. Washington’s stellar filmography can only be matched by a select group of actors. So it’s understandable as to why the rapper felt a bit flustered, and I applaud his honesty. It also sounds like his introduction to Washington as an actor began with one of his greatest movies:
The first movies I really loved were ‘Juice,’ ‘Malcolm X’ and ‘Michael Jackson: Moonwalker.’ The first time I saw him, I was watching ‘Malcolm X.’
ASAP Rocky is far from the only person who’s shared glowing thoughts about working with the Gladiator II star. One of the actor’s latest co-stars, Jake Gyllenhaal, gushed over working with him on the latest stage adaptation of Othello. Director Ryan Coogler also wants to work with Washington on the upcoming Black Panther 3 and has discussed his admiration for the two-time Oscar winner.
Seeing the hip hop artist’s love for his co-star honestly has me even more amped for their new movie. The recently released Highest 2 Lowest teaser also provides a solid look at this reinterpretation of Akira Kurosawa’s High and Low, a noir film with a high-stakes kidnapping within the white collar world. I’d like to think that this adaptation is in good hands with Lee and Washington.
Of course, ASAP Rocky is gradually carve out a lane for himself as an actor as well Most notably, he put on a solid performance in one of the best Black-led coming-of-age movies, Dope. I can’t wait to see him and Denzel Washington mix it up on screen, and here’s hoping the have great chemistry.
Highest 2 Lowest is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19 and will hit theaters on August 22. It’ll also be available for Apple TV+ subscription holders to stream starting on September 5.
