INTERVIEW: Denzel Washington, Corey Hawkins, and Alex Hassell Star in New Film The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Tragedy of Macbeth is the latest Apple TV+ Original film release this January and stars Academy Award-winning actors Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand as they come together for Joel Coen’s adaptation of the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare, one of the greatest tragedies to date.

Coen wrote, directed, and produced the black and white immersive film and created only one Los Angeles soundstage for the entire production. This allowed Coen to control and create the entire project to a precise perfection in sound, editing, and direction. The film breathes and expands and you would never guess that this wasn’t created in the deep forests of Scotland with its massive stages and curated landscapes. The film also stars Bertie Carvel, Alex Hassell, Corey Hawkins, Harry Melling, Brendan Gleeson, Kathryn Hunter, and Moses Ingram.

Coen’s version of The Tragedy of Macbeth tells the story of prophecies, murder, paranoia, madness, and ambition meant for the stage, through a unique lens. The cast and crew described at the Q and A screening in Hollywood that the preparation was so different and challenging for film. For theater, you have a long runway of rehearsals, not so much for film productions. Mixed with filming during the pandemic, actors stated they had to practice lines privately outside of rehearsals to give their portrayal justice.

Denzel is not new to the theater having performed The Iceman Cometh, A Raisin in the Sun, Fences, Julius Caesar, The Tragedy of Richard III, and many others. He was Coen and McDormand’s perfect Macbeth according to their additional Q and A comments on approaching Denzel. Washington has taken on a diverse selection of film roles including Training Day, Malcolm X, and Courage Under Fire making him the ideal actor to lead this film.

Alex Hassell who stars as Ross is a veteran theater actor starring in film and stage productions including but not limited to, Othello, Hamlet, King Lear, Twelfth Night, Henry V, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He is also the co-founder of The Factory Theatre Company in London so it was fascinating to see that level of skill and love for the craft come alive on screen. Hassell gave a flawless performance, he’s just built to perform.

Corey Hawkins is one of the younger leads in the cast but he still has an outstanding resume under his belt including Romeo and Juliet, Straight Outta Compton, BlacKkKlansman, and his latest role as Benny in Lin-Manuel’s In The Heights. Hawkins gave a strong performance opposite such a heavy hitter as Denzel Washington. You have to be good to even have the guts to slay Washington as Macbeth on screen. Hawkins mention to Glitter that it was exciting for him to learn from such a stellar cast.

Despite the play being re-enacted hundreds of times around the globe, the story never gets old. The tale unfolds with Macbeth, Thane of Glamis, and Banquo, Thane of Lochaber, on a bare and foggy battlefield after leading King Duncan’s army to victory over the Thane of Cawdor. They come across three witches singularly played ingeniously by the phenomenal Kathryn Hunter (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix , Orlando) on the battlefield who proclaim that Macbeth is the future Thane of Cawdor and that he will one day be King and that Banquo shall father a line of kings. King Duncan orders the Thane of Ross to execute Cawdor and give the title to Macbeth, but names his own son Malcolm the Prince of Cumberland, which drives a wedge in Macbeth’s path to the throne. Duncan spends the night at Macbeth’s castle and Lady Macbeth portrayed by the legendary Frances McDormand, knows what the three witches have proclaimed and drugs Duncan’s servants while convincing Macbeth to creep in and kill Duncan. Havoc ensues and Macbeth must order even more killings as Malcolm flees the castle while Macbeth takes the throne.

Macbeth wants Banquo and his son Fleance murdered and sends assassins including Ross to kill them. Macbeth becomes not only paranoid but feared as he starts to lose his mind on what’s real and what’s not seeing enemies and spies all around him. He embarrassingly hallucinates at a royal party where Lady Macbeth has to send everyone away before drugging Macbeth to calm him. The witches once again visit Macbeth and produce a vision of Fleance who warns him that Macduff shall be King. Macbeth orders Macduff’s entire family to be murdered but Macduff survives as he was in England. Lady Macbeth goes insane and Ross is the one who has to tell Macduff what’s become of his family.

One of my favorite scenes is where Malcolm then builds an army and they use branches from Birnam Wood as camouflage to then march on Macbeth’s castle. Corey Hawkins describes the scene below as one of his favorites to film as well. Such precision was made to the production, performance, and sound.

Lady Macbeth then dies and Macbeth loses his mental state even further losing his life partner. The dynamic of their relationship explored an older couple who had no children and gave a unique perspective with Washington and McDormand’s take on this age and norm-bending relationship. A duel ensues and Macduff ends up beheading Macbeth again fulfilling one of the witch’s prophecies and Malcolm becomes King of Scotland.

Glitter sat down with Denzel Washington, Corey Hawkins, and Alex Hassell to learn more about their process and what they loved most about being a part of this adaptation. You must see this film in IMAX if you can, to get the fully immersive experience of the sound, lighting, performances, and costumes by Mary Zophres. The film envelops you in the theater with pristine editing by Lucian Johnston and Reginald Jaynesby.

NIKKI: I have a question about your craft and your love of it. After all the rehearsals, the direction, the running lines, what was it like for you and the moments of your performance to have this freedom to get lost in the role creatively? 

DENZEL WASHINGTON: Stanislavsky, the acting teacher, writer talks about cutting 90 percent. You do all the research, you do all your homework, you do all that, you study the lines, and then you cut 90 percent of everything you study. You throw all that away, and you listen, and you respond accordingly, you know? I like not knowing what’s going to happen. 

NIKKI: I’m sure you have many, but can you share one moment in the film that really stood out as an incredible creative experience for you? 

COREY HAWKINS: There were a few. First of all, I’ll say it wasn’t in the film; it was mostly the rehearsal process. It was everything leading up. Denzel and Frances and all the other great actors in this sort of watching the sauce get made, that for me, gave me permission to be my best self to stretch and to play and to fall flat on my face in front of these greats. It gave me permission that Shakespeare can hold more than just what we say it can hold. And so it was just really thrilling to kind of like watch and be a fly on the wall and then be able to participate in that. Also, I think creatively, me and Moses Ingram, we were like on set every day, like they couldn’t pull us away from the set.

So I remember the leaves, all of the leaves because everything was inside, and the fact that that was even possible was with my mind-blowing. But I remember the leaves when Birnham Wood comes to Dunsinane. I remember the conversations that they were having just about the texture of the leaves and how it would read on black and white. And there were so many different conversations about leaves. And I’m like (laughing) just the specificity of it all was just incredible what he was able to do in that scene with me and Malcolm Harry Melling walking down before I find out about my family, you know, the leaves sort of falling. All of that was inside on a soundstage. And I was like, Man, I don’t know how they are going to pull this off, of course. They are going to pull it off. But it was just moments like that. Every moment I was learning.  

NIKKI: You know this this this film just breathes. That’s the best way to say how I received the film with this perfect mash of language and the visuals. What were your thoughts on seeing the final film come together? 

ALEX HASSELL: Yeah, I was pretty knocked out. I mean, I had it’s very, very close to the screenplay that Joe wrote. So he tends, I believe, to use almost everything that he shoots; he’s not the kind of director that then really shuffles everything around afterwards, so it’s pretty faithful to what I knew we shot and what the screenplay was. And in fact, unlike some other directors, you’re welcome to get the storyboards each day when you’re shooting with Joe, which is really interesting and really helps. I’ve got a bunch of storyboards at home now that I’ll keep as a memento.

So it was kind of close to what I’d imagine, but what you don’t obviously get is the acute culminating effect of the film, the kind of ominous ball rolling towards some terrible climax. Obviously, knowing the play, you know what that is, but the way that the characters feel about it, the way that the story is being told, is new.

I was just incredibly proud to be part of what I think is really kind of an arthouse film and caring a great deal about Shakespeare and cinema, as I do, to be sort of in the middle of both of those things with these incredible actors and creative people with was a great honor. I think it’s a really good film of Macbeth. I think it’s really a brilliant telling of Macbeth that I hope will stand the test of time.  

Make sure to listen to the interviews below and watch this timeless adaptation on APPLE TV+ here.