John David Washington is responding to some of the social media chatter about his and Zendaya’s 12-year age gap in Malcolm & Marie.
According to an interview Washington did with Variety, he noted that didn’t see anything untoward about playing Zenday’s love interest.
“I wasn’t concerned about it because she is a woman,” said Washington, who is 36 years old to Zendaya’s 24 years. “She has far more experience than I do in the industry. I’ve only been in it for seven years. She’s been in it longer, so I’m learning from her. I’m the rookie. I was leaning on her for a lot.”
Washington further said how Zendaya helped mentor him on Hollywood and stardom by sharing “what she’s had to go through with Twitter and everything.”
“I appreciated her wisdom and discernment when it comes to this business,” he said. “I admire that. What I’m really excited for people to see when the film is released–they’re going to see how mature she is in this role. We’re talking about versatility and [director Sam Levinson] and Zendaya brought both.”
Malcolm & Marie will come to Netflix Feb. 5 and is considered to be a Oscar contender in major categories, led by Zendaya’s Lead Actress campaign.
