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title: Watch Denzel Washington Turn Christmas Cards Into High Drama
description: Denzel Washington does a very dramatic reading of greeting cards on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
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# Denzel Washington Turns Boring Old Holiday Cards Into Some Great Theater With Jimmy Fallon

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by 

[Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/)


## Melissa Locker


Dec 20, 2016 4:57 PM UTC

by 

[Melissa Locker](https://time.com/author/melissa-locker/)


## Melissa Locker


Dec 20, 2016 4:57 PM UTC

[Denzel Washington](http://time.com/4086028/arron-sorkin-denzel-washington-steve-jobs/?iid=sr-link5) transformed _The Tonight Show_ stage into a Shakespearean theater on Monday night.

When Washington stopped by the show during his press tour for [_Fences_ ](http://time.com/4509463/viola-davis-denzel-washington-fences-trailer/?iid=sr-link1)the movie he stars in alongside [Viola Davis](http://time.com/4495410/magnificent-seven-1960-review/?iid=sr-link2), Jimmy Fallon asked the actor to take part in his ongoing project called “Greeting Card Monologues,” where actors offer dramatic interpretations of the text inside Hallmark cards.

The Academy Award-winning [actor](http://newsfeed.time.com/2010/06/14/denzel-washington-moves-one-step-closer-to-an-egot/?iid=sr-link9) was up for the challenge, donning his reading glasses, showcasing his British accent, even bursting into song on occasion. Using the impressive skill set that let a solitary tear run down his cheek in _Glory_, Washington was able to recite lines from a dog-themed birthday card with a straight face: “Another birthday, and you look happier, sexier and in better shape than ever…b-tch.”

Washington’s [interpretation](http://time.com/4604956/fences-review-denzel-washington/?iid=sr-link4) of the cards was so moving that Fallon wasn’t the only one trying to hold back tears during the performance.

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