Spike Lee Praises A$AP Rocky’s Acting, Says Rapper Went ‘Toe-to-Toe’ With Denzel Washington in New Film

Spike Lee’s Highest 2 Lowest is set to hit theaters on Aug. 22, and in support of the upcoming film, the acclaimed director and Knicks superfan stopped by The Tonight Show on Thursday (July 31).

During his interview with host Jimmy Fallon, Lee praised A$AP Rocky’s acting ability and credited him with holding his own opposite Denzel Washington on the set of the crime thriller.

“Yeah, don’t sleep on A$AP. In this film, Denzel and A$AP go toe-to-toe,” Spike teased. “What’s interesting is, even before I got involved with this film, I always thought that A$AP looked like he could be Denzel’s son. There’s a big resemblance. So when you see it on the screen, it adds an element of father and son.”

Having worked on multiple movies with the Oscar-winning star, Lee recalled times he’s seen actors crumble in scenes with Washington. “Don’t sleep on A$AP. I’ve done five films with Denzel, and a lot of times when he’s in a scene with somebody, they just get overwhelmed. He’s one of the greatest living actors today, but A$AP wasn’t having that. Toe-to-toe, I mean, they were going at it.”

Highest 2 Lowest is a “reinterpretation” of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 noir High and Low. Produced by A24 and Apple, the flick finds Rocky playing Denzel’s son, a character named Yung Felony, and is set in New York City. Rocky’s character is an aspiring rapper, while Washington’s runs a respected record label, Stackin Hits, and is the heir apparent to Quincy Jones.

Look for Highest 2 Lowest in theaters on Aug. 22, before the film comes to AppleTV+ on Sept. 5. Watch Spike Lee talk about A$AP Rocky and Denzel Washington on The Tonight Show shortly after the 10-minute mark below.