Frances McDormand Says It Was 'Perfect' To Have Denzel Washington Involved In 'Tragedy of MacBeth'

Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand bring their new film, The Tragedy of Macbeth, to the 59th New York Film Festival for its opening night events in New York City on Friday (September 24).

Held at The Film Society of Lincoln Center, Walter Reade Theatre and moderated by Dennis Lim, the two stars were joined by co-stars Bertie Carvel, Moses Ingram and Harry Melling, as well as director Joel Coen.

Speaking with Deadline earlier, Frances and Joel revealed that it was easy to get Denzel on board the movie.

“It was so easy. Maybe five or six years ago, Denzel and I had lunch together and we talked very generally about, it would be cool to work together at some point, if the right thing came along for him and for us,” Joel explained. “So, when we were casting this movie, it was very much…Denzel? And it was [like you heard a] click. I got together with him at, again for lunch in LA, and I said, what about doing Macbeth? And he was like, yeah, cool.”

Frances added, “It couldn’t have been more perfect, actually. There aren’t many actors, contemporaries of my age, that could handle the character but also who consistently does theater the way Denzel does.”

The Tragedy of Macbeth will be in theaters on December 25, and streaming on Apple TV+, January 14.

Click through the gallery for 40+ photos of Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand discussing their film in New York…