Denzel Washington has seen too much Oscar drama for the 2025 nominations to faze him.

The star has reacted to the Academy snubbing him in the Best Supporting Actor category for Gladiator II in a new interview with The New York Times. “I was sitting there smiling [on nomination morning], going: ‘Look at you. On the day you didn’t get a nomination for an Oscar, you’re working on Othello on Broadway,'” Washington recalled.

“Are you kidding me? Awww. Oh, I’m so upset,” he added sarcastically.

The actor elaborated. “I’m happy for all that did, and I’m happy with what I’m doing,” he said. “Listen, I’ve been around too long. I’ve got — I don’t wanna say other fish to fry, but there’s a reality at this age. Going back to what I was saying: The beginning of wisdom is understanding. I’m getting wiser, working on talking less and learning to understand more — and that’s exciting.”

Washington’s performance in Ridley Scott‘s sequel earned rave reviews and nominations for Best Supporting Actor at the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards, but it didn’t score any love from the Academy, which instead nominated Yura Borisov (Anora), Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain), Edward Norton (A Complete Unknown), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist), and Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice). Gladiator II earned a sole nomination for Best Costume Design.

Washington has gotten his fair share of Oscars love in the past: He won Best Supporting Actor in 1988 for Glory and Best Actor in 2002 for Training Day. He received six additional Best Actor nominations for Malcolm X, The Hurricane, Flight, Fences, The Tragedy of Macbeth, and Roman J. Israel, Esq., as well as another Supporting Actor nod for Cry Freedom and a Best Picture nom for Fences.

Elsewhere in the interview, the Equalizer star reflected on his dynamic with Jake Gyllenhaal, who’s playing the Iago to Washington’s Othello on stage. “He’s a complicated guy,” he said, before clarifying, “In a good way.” 

Washington continued, “He’s crazy. He’s nuts. I love him. He’s complicated. But he’s already got a handle on it.”

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The actor also noted that Gyllenhaal’s preparation style differs from his own. “I could see how far ahead people are [in preparing],” he explained. “Me, I’m not worried about that, because I don’t like to learn the lines too soon. I was telling a young actor who asked, ‘Why don’t you like to learn them too soon?’ I said: ‘Because then I’m the voice I’m listening to delivering the cues to myself. I want to hear it from you, and that’s going to affect how I say what I say.’ For me, that works.”

Washington also admitted that he has the advantage of having performed the piece early in his career. “To be quite honest, because I’ve played it before, I still kinda remember it,” he said. “But it’s not word-for-word.”