This Summer’s Action Hero Opens Up About … Everything

He isn't just "Denzel's son." He's Spike Lee's leading man. He's Christopher Nolan's next action hero. He's John David Washington, dammit. And he's moments away from breaking into the stratosphere.

The Untold Story of John David Washington The injury that set everything in motion started with a violent pop. To demonstrate the noise, John David Washington juts his two front teeth toward his iPad and balances the screen with one hand. He scrapes the bottom of his teeth with the nail of his thumb. Fliiiiick. I've spent the past week talking with a dozen or so of the actor's family members, friends, and colleagues. Under normal circumstances, I would spend many hours with Washington, over the course of days, soaking up as much as possible about this thirty-five-year-old who's gone from NFL running-back hopeful to the world's next great action star in just seven years. Because we're both stuck inside weeks into the COVID-19 quarantine, we talk over Zoom. And I didn't think I could tell the complete story of a man after just a couple video chats, so I reached out to everyone I could to help me understand him. But no one has told me this story yet. The story of the tendon. It was 2013, and he was training outside L.A., getting ready for a workout with the New York Giants. After two years on the practice team for the St. Louis Rams and a stint in Germany with the NFL European league during the off-season, he was in the U. S. doing explosion drills when he felt that pop. He looked down to see something resembling a worm wriggling beneath the thin skin of his calf. He knew it was his Achilles. And he knew his football days were over.   He'd worked so hard, through so many injuries, and now he was terrified about what would come next. As a kid, he'd harbored dreams of acting, and despite his dogged pursuit of a football career, the idea of becoming an actor was always in the background. It was a constant push and pull. Now that he could no longer play professionally, there was nothing stopping him. Read the Full Story Read the Iconic Interview With James Baldwin on Race in America In Esquire's July 1968 issue, published just after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr., the magazine talked to author James Baldwin about the state of race relations in the country. His words are as relevant and heartbreaking today as they were 52 years ago. Read the Full Story 50 Father's Day Gift Ideas for the Dad Whose Taste Is of the Highest Degree The "cool dad" might seem like a mythical beast. But hidden among the chunky sneakers, lame jokes, and hyper-specific hobbies is indeed a cool dad. He raised you, didn't he? And now, with Father's Day on the horizon, it's time to pay homage to all that coolness. Meaning, not a gift card. If your old man has good style, awesome music taste, and a fully stocked bar, then he'll dig a gift from you that matches his vibe. To help you along, we've gathered 50 great gifts for dad this Father's Day.    Read the Full Story Now—Yes, Right Now—Is the Perfect Time to Buy Patagonia's Iconic Retro-X Fleece  A Fleece? In May? A Fleece. In May. We mean it! But why? Well, first of all, this isn't your ordinary fleece. This is Patagonia's Retro-X. It is the fleece of fleeces. But beyond that, despite our rapidly changing climate, the summer sun does tend to wane. Sometimes (every night) it even goes down. And those cool summer nights are a great excuse to practice the kind of layering you take part in the rest of the year. Headed on a boat ride? There's gonna be wind. A romantic midnight walk on the beach? You're gonna want to look good. Esquire's Jonathan Evans explains why this garment helps you with all of that, and more.  Read the Full Story The 20 Best Movies of 2020 (So Far) Yes, we know, movie theaters are not The Place to Be right now. But don't let that stop you from feeding your cinematic addictions from the comfort of your own living room (or bedroom, or bathroom, if that's your thing). With everyone locked inside, now is an ideal time to catch up on the stellar offerings that have already seen the light of day in 2020, the best of which are highlighted here. Read the Full Story The Best Camping Gadgets to Pack on Your Imminent Escape into Nature Have you ever felt a greater need than you do right now to simply get the hell outside? Same here. Even if camping isn't something you've embarked on very often in the Before Times, it's never felt like a better idea than it does these days. But if you're going for it, we suggest you go for it. Minimalism be damned—when we're camping, we're camping big. And these are some of our favorite gadgets (read: life savers) to do it with.  Read the Full Story   Follow Us     Unsubscribe  Privacy Notice   esquire.com ©2020 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019