Denzel Washington Urges You to Vote While Promoting His Film ‘Fences'

Denzel Washington attended the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards last night, where he promoted his new film “Fences,” which is already receiving Oscar buzz.

There was another buzz Denzel was chatting about backstage. He spoke with “Extra's” Terri Seymour about the importance of voting tomorrow, November 8. “I hope people go and vote,” he said. "I hope they exercise their right. We all have, not just an obligation and a responsibility, an opportunity to exercise our right.”

With the election a day away, the Oscar winner discussed the country coming together. "That takes time to do, but it starts with each one us. It starts with you, it starts with me. So we all have that responsibility. We can't complain about it — we're all a part of it.”

During the ceremony, the actor presented an award to his “Fences” cinematographer, Charlotte Christensen. She told “Extra” she was happy to have him as her presenter, saying, “It means a lot because the work that I gave to this movie was very much a support to a vision to something that was already existing.”

The film, set in the 1950s, shows a former Negro league baseball player, now working as a waste collector, struggling to provide for his family and with coming to terms with the events of his life. Denzel shared, "It is a masterpiece that August Wilson wrote… It was a great play back in the '80s when it was done, and we got a chance to reinterpret it our way in 2010 — and now on film.”

He added, “August Wilson is one of the greatest playwrights in American history, and it was my job, and our job, to tell the truth and stay out of the way. I'm happy to find out from the audiences that we did that and they enjoyed that.”

Viola Davis also stars in the movie with Denzel. “She is one of the great actresses of our time,” Denzel said, "and it's now her time, so I'm happy about that. This is the role of a lifetime, and this is the perfect place where the actor meets the role and she delivers.”