Denzel's reject is Dennis Haysbert's reward - how actor Dennis Haysbert is able to do film parts that Denzel Washington turns down

Ebony, June, 1993

Sizzling role turned down by Washington launches stardom for rising Black actor

DENZEL Washington's decision not to work in the interracial drama, Love Field, turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to Dennis Haysbert professionally.

When Washington bowed out, Haysbert landed the plum role of Paul Cater, a Black man traveling cross-country with his small daughter in the early 1960s. Their lives are changed forever when they encounter a bizarre White woman (Michelle Pfeiffer) and Haysbert and Pfeiffer become lovers.

"My character is running away while Michelle's character, 'Lurene Hallette,' is running to something," says Haysbert. "Our paths cross and circumstances continually throw us together. Both of us are lonely, and as we cross the country, a reluctant bond forms between us."

That explosive role, along with his strong performance as Davis, a militant Black man in the post-Civil War South in the miniseries Queen, has catapulted Haysbert into the national spotlight.

He is often asked why Denzel Washington turned the role down. "I get asked that a lot," he says. "I don't know why he didn't do it." With a broad smile, he adds that he is extremely grateful. "It really left the door open for me. Some people say that Denzel and I look alike. I don't see it, but I take it as a compliment. Denzel is getting his and hopefully I'll get mine."

While those two recent movies gave Haysbert his greatest exposure to date, the native of suburban San Francisco, has been performing for about a decade. He was the voodoo-practicing baseball player in Major League. He also appeared in Mr. Baseball and Navy Seals.

Haysbert, who stands 6-foot-3 and weighs about 240 pounds, has the physical presence of an athlete. And he did play sports throughout school. But it was Hollywood, not the gridiron, that piqued his curiosity at an early age.

"I used to watch and was fascinated with movies and television shows," he says. "It wasn't until I was finishing up junior high school that the interest really peaked. I saw a couple of plays and they weren't very good. I just thought if those guys could get up there and do it, I could. I had always been an athlete, but with acting there was a calling and I said, 'I got to do this.' It was about emotional fulfillment."

The thirtyish Haysbert, who refuses to tell his age, comes from a family--his mother was a homemaker and his father was a deputy sheriff--with nine children (two sisters and six brothers). He recalls that his mother encouraged him to find a way to balance athletics with something "cultural." "Whether it was being in the band, reading poetry or something accentuating another part of myself: that was what my mother wanted," he says. "And that's how I found theater."

The young actor attended the College of San Mateo (Calif.), the Pasadena branch of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and spent a season at the prestigious American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

He landed roles in such television programs as Buck Rogers in the 21st Century, Code Red, Just the Ten of Us, Lou Grant and the made-for-television movies Grambling's White Tiger and The Return of Marcus Welby, M.D.

Besides fulfilling many of his childhood dreams, Haysbert says he is happy that his craft also makes positive social statements. One of the best things about Queen, he says, is that the drama dealt with the dark skin/light skin controversy. "We have to understand that dark skin is great," he says. "We have to stay strong and love our Black skin. We have to get rid of the self-hate problem we've had for years."

He and his wife of four years, actress Lynn Griffith, have a 3-year-old son. "I had a little practice being a dad with my role in Love Field, but I now know my toughest role ever will be that of being a good father to Charles."

And he is still quite an athlete. He works out almost every day, playing basketball, baseball, golf and racquetball. He relaxes by practicing martial arts, reading and cooking. "I fulfilled any sports fantasies in the movies Grambling's White Tiger and Mr. Baseball," he says. "I can say without contradiction that I am doing what I want to do."