“Cannot Be a Donut”: Denzel Washington Refused Blowout Loss to Ray Allen in Spike Lee’s ‘He Got Game’

No one wants to come out of a movie scene looking bad, and they will mostly do whatever it takes to avoid that. That is exactly what legendary actor Denzel Washington did against NBA icon Ray Allen when they faced off in a basketball game in the movie He Got Game. It was a defiant but admittedly smart move from Washington.

He Got Game is a cinematic classic, especially for basketball fans. Starring Washington and Allen, it was directed by acclaimed filmmaker and lifelong New York Knicks fan Spike Lee. In one of the film’s most emotional scenes, Jake, played by Washington, takes on his son Jesus, played by Allen, in a game of one-on-one.

A rumor has long circulated that the script originally called for Jesus to beat Jake 11-0. However, Denzel reportedly refused to go down without putting at least one point on the board.

Lee was asked about this during a recent interview on the Rich Eisen Show, where he was promoting his latest film project with Washington, Highest 2 Lowest. “True,” responded Spike to Eisen, who pushed the Oscar-winning filmmaker to share more details about the story.

Spike laughed as he recalled the story and revealed that no one on set knew Washington was going to play hard against the three-point machine, simply because he did not want to get blown out. “No one knew. Denzel, he said it many times. He was like, ‘F that. I’m getting at least one basket.'”

Funnily enough, this completely took Allen out of character, and he demanded that Lee call cut. “Here’s the thing, though. This is Ray’s first film. So Denzel started doing some lucky stuff, just going in,” the 68-year-old added. “And Ray turns to me and says, ‘Time out! Time out!’ Ray’s looking at me like, ‘Spike, what’s up?’ I’m like,’ What can I tell you?'”

By this point, Spike was dying with laughter at how absurd the whole thing was. He then disclosed Denzel’s reasoning. “I cannot be a donut,” Lee said, quoting Washington. “I can’t go back to Mount Vernon and not score.”

Some might assume that this was incredibly unprofessional on Denzel’s part. After all, if an actor is told to do something, especially when it is in the script written by the director, it should be followed. But Washington is widely considered one of the greatest actors of all time for a reason. He understands complex storytelling better than anyone. Lee later explained this in his own words and claimed that Denzel’s approach made the scene even better.

“Here’s the thing, though. This is Denzel’s genius. It made that scene, it made the movie better. If we had done what had been scripted and Jesus beat his father 11-0, it would not have been the same.”

While far from the most memorable basketball film because of its intense subject matter, He Got Game has become something of a cult classic. Allen, in particular, was heavily praised for his performance. Famed film critic Roger Ebert applauded the now Hall of Famer as a “rare athlete who can act.”

He Got Game is available to rent on Amazon or Apple and is well worth a revisit. With a powerhouse lead in Denzel, a surprising performance from Allen, sharp direction from Lee, and basketball at its core, it is a story worth experiencing.

About the author

Joseph Galizia

Joseph is a Las Vegas based actor and circus performer. For the last seven years he's had the pleasure of covering sports for multiple outlets, including the Lifestyles section of Sports Illustrated. In that time, he's conducted over 50 interviews with athletes, filmmakers, and company founders to further cement his footprint in the journalism world. He's excited to bring that skillset to the SportsRush, where he'll be covering the NBA news cycle.

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