The streamer will launch it on its service on November 22.
Washington says that he saw himself in both sides of the argument.
How best do we honor legacy?
Danielle Deadwyler as Berniece and Skylar Smith as Maretha in The Piano Lesson; Malcolm WashingtonBrian Douglas/Netflix
One image he found was of his grandmother aged about four.
This got him to thinking of the span that this image covers.
Im looking at them, seeing myself, he adds.
John David Washington,Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Potts and Ray Fisher in ‘The Piano Lesson’David Lee/Netflix
His mother grew up in Newton, North Carolina, but Washington stresses that her family was from Eden.
You look at their hands and their faces, he says.
Theyve lived such a physically gruelling life, but with so much love still.
That love, he says, inspired his depiction of the family and their descendants inThe Piano Lesson.
Its very much taken from the love I received from my grandparents.
They were like the embodiment of what love is, he adds.
Their presence loomed so large over the production that its his mothers family pictures that adorn the wall.
It can also bring pain.
Malcolm Washington cant play the piano but his mother is a classically trained pianist and vocalist.
She studied music at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Juilliard, and the University of Texas.
But, says Washington, his mother has a conflicted relationship with the piano.
How so, I asked.
My mom grew up in the segregated South.
And when integration happened, he lost his job.
They lost their standing in the community because all the positions of power were replaced with white people.
You cant cross that emotional bridge because theres too much between you and that thing, he says.
His family is so deeply woven intoThe Piano Lesson.
I remark to him that August Wilson has become an important part of the Washington family.
He was instrumental in filmingFenceswhich he directed and starred in alongside Viola Davis (who won an Oscar).
Denzel Washington also helped bring WilsonsMa Raineys Black Bottomto the screen.
It was like he was in a different world.
I want to do it with you.
Jackson is also steeped in Wilsons oeuvre.
He and John David performed together on Broadway in a recent production of The Piano Lesson.
It was important to have Michael Potts who has also been associated with Wilsons plays for decades.
And he wanted the chance to work with Deadwyler who was coming off of her sublime performance inTill.
Wed been talking a lot about ghosts and I wondered if any had visited the set.
The shoot, he says, was a spiritual experience.
Washington has a strong spiritual core and I feel a strong connection to those who came before.
I have a go at set the tone too.
I would burn candles every day.
Everybody now is a name black actor from that generation.
Everybody was coming in.
Im like, wow, August touched everybody.
Washington laughs, agreeing with my observations.
And, of course, his parents work influenced him.
And my dads been involved in all of August Wilsons work.
But he spoke with warmth and sincerity.
He refused to be drawn on whether hell shoot another film in the August Wilson cycle.
