Denzel Washington Recalls Working with Whitney Houston on The Preacher’s Wife: ‘I Wanted to Protect Her’
“She wanted to be so tough, but she really wasn’t,” Washington said of Houston
Denzel Washington is looking back fondly on his time working with Whitney Houston.
Washington, 69, and the late multi-hyphenate starred as Dudley and Julia Biggs respectively in the 1996 movie The Preacher’s Wife. Nearly 30 years later, Washington shared his experience filming the classic with Houston while reflecting on his decades-long career at his African Black Film Festival retrospective on Saturday, June 15.
“I felt like I always wanted to protect her,” he said of the “I Will Always Love You” singer.
Chaz Ebert, host and widow of film critic Roger Ebert, pointed out, “There was a vulnerability that you saw.”
“So you really got that?” Washington asked in response.
Ebert, 71, affirmed and the audience laughed as Washington added, “Well, of course.”
He reiterated, “I always felt like I wanted to protect her. You know? She wanted to be so tough, but she really wasn’t. That’s all. Okay.”
The Preacher’s Wife also starred Courtney B. Vance, Jenifer Lewis, Gregory Hines and Justin Pierre Edmund. Lionel Richie, Loretta Devine and Houston’s mother, Cissy Houston, also had notable appearances. It is a remake of the 1947 movie The Bishop’s Wife.
Houston appeared to develop close friendships with the cast before her untimely death in February 2012. She died of accidental drowning with contributing factors of heart disease and cocaine use. She was 48.
