2010-02-09 20:41:15 -

DENZEL WASHINGTON repeatedly turned down his upcoming role in Broadway's = FENCES for years - because he was convinced he was too young to follow in= the footsteps of JAMES EARL JONES.
In April (10), Washington will thread the boards in

New York and repris= e Jones' 1987 role as patriarch Troy Maxson in the August Wilson revival = - which centres around U.S. race-relations in the 1950s.
But Washington continually declined to star in the Tony-winning play un= til he could realistically follow-up acting legend Jones, who at 79, is 2= 4 years his senior.
Producer Scott Rudin says, "Denzel and I have been having conversations= about this one role for years. This was no sudden thought. A long time a= go he met August Wilson at Wilson's home in Seattle. It was a rainy after= noon, and they spent time talking. And he loved this particular play. He = always wanted to do it 'one day.' "The reason it was 'one day' was because Denzel's role in Fences is tha= t of the patriarch father. The character is 54. Denzel didn't think he wa= s old enough. So many years have passed and we've talked about it so long= .." And it wasn't until Washington earned a boost of confidence from his ro= le in Broadway's 2005 revival of Julius Caesar that he finally agreed to = the project.
Rudin adds,"He's already done Broadway in 2005 as Brutus in a Julius Ca= esar revival, so that he now feels he's old enough."