Honestly, most people remember Roman J. Israel, Esq. for one thing: Denzel Washington’s hair. That massive, 1970s-style afro was practically a character itself. But if you look past the aesthetics, the cast of Roman J. Israel, Esq. is actually a weirdly brilliant mix of heavy hitters and fresh faces that tried to pull off a very difficult balancing act.
It’s a movie about a man out of time. Roman is a savant-like legal researcher who has spent forty years in a back office, only to be shoved into the bright, cutthroat lights of modern Los Angeles law.
Denzel Washington as Roman J. Israel
Denzel didn't just play Roman; he kind of disappeared into him. He put on weight, gaped his teeth, and wore these baggy, mismatched suits that looked like they smelled of old library books. This wasn't the "cool" Denzel we saw in Training Day or the "powerful" Denzel of Malcolm X.
Roman is socially awkward, likely on the autism spectrum, and obsessed with a massive, 1,000-page brief he's been writing for decades. Denzel’s performance is twitchy. He’s constantly adjusting his glasses and listening to jazz on an old-school Walkman. It’s the kind of performance that earned him an Oscar nomination even when the movie itself received mixed reviews. He basically carried the emotional weight of the entire 122-minute runtime on his slumped shoulders.
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Colin Farrell as George Pierce
Then you have Colin Farrell. He plays George Pierce, a slick, high-powered attorney who is the exact opposite of Roman. While Roman is all about "the cause," George is about the billable hour.
What’s interesting about Farrell’s role here is the arc. He starts as this corporate shark who recruits Roman mostly out of a sense of obligation to a dead mentor. But as the movie progresses, Roman’s stubborn idealism starts to rub off on him. George begins to question his own polished, empty life. It’s a subtle performance from Farrell, who had to play the "straight man" to Denzel’s eccentricities. He nails that transition from a guy who values $2,000 suits to a guy who remembers why he went to law school in the first place.
Carmen Ejogo as Maya Alston
Carmen Ejogo plays Maya, a civil rights activist who becomes a sort of moral North Star for Roman. She’s the head of a local community-service lawyer group.
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Their relationship is... complicated. It’s not quite a romance, though there’s a flicker of something there. Maya is genuinely moved by Roman’s old-school commitment to justice. She sees him as a relic of a more principled era. Ejogo has this incredible warmth, but she also portrays the weariness of a modern activist who is tired of fighting an uphill battle.
The Supporting Players You Might Recognize
The cast of Roman J. Israel, Esq. also features a lot of talent in smaller, pivotal roles that ground the story in the gritty reality of the L.A. court system.
- Lynda Gravatt as Vernita Wells: She plays the assistant at Roman’s original firm. She’s the one who has to deal with the immediate fallout when their lead partner has a heart attack.
- Amanda Warren as Lynn Jackson: Roman’s niece, who basically forces the closure of the old firm, setting the whole plot in motion.
- Niles Fitch as Langston Bailey: A young man charged with murder. His case becomes the catalyst for Roman’s moral "lapse" and the eventual spiral of the plot.
- Amari Cheatom as Carter Johnson: The actual gunman in the murder case, whose information Roman uses to make a very questionable decision.
- Shelley Hennig as Olivia Reed: George Pierce’s assistant. You might recognize her from Teen Wolf or Unfriended.
Why the Ensemble Feels Different
Director Dan Gilroy (who also did Nightcrawler) didn't want this to feel like a standard legal thriller. The casting reflects that. Instead of filled-to-the-brim courtrooms, most scenes are intimate, awkward, and quiet.
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The movie underperformed at the box office—it only made about $13 million against a $22 million budget—but it has found a second life on streaming. People keep coming back to it because of the character dynamics. It’s a "character study" disguised as a legal drama.
There was actually a lot of drama behind the scenes with the edit. After the Toronto International Film Festival, Gilroy cut about 12 minutes of the film and re-ordered scenes to make the plot move faster. Even with those changes, the heart of the movie remains the friction between Roman’s 1960s soul and George’s 2017 reality.
Quick Cast Reference
| Actor | Character | Key Trait |
|---|---|---|
| Denzel Washington | Roman J. Israel | Idealistic, socially awkward savant |
| Colin Farrell | George Pierce | Ambitious, polished corporate lawyer |
| Carmen Ejogo | Maya Alston | Tired but hopeful civil rights worker |
| Tony Plana | Jesse Salinas | Veteran lawyer at the new firm |
| DeRon Horton | Derrell Ellerbee | Young clerk working with Roman |
Actionable Insights for Fans
If you're looking to dive deeper into this film or the performances:
- Watch for the Jazz: Roman’s music choices aren't random. The soundtrack, featuring Pharoah Sanders and Gil Scott-Heron, is a direct window into his headspace.
- Compare the Performances: Watch Denzel in Fences (released just a year prior) and then Roman J. Israel, Esq. back-to-back. The physical transformation is wild.
- Check out Dan Gilroy’s other work: If you liked the "grimy L.A." vibe, Nightcrawler is a must-watch, though it’s much darker than Roman’s story.
- Look for the "Esq.": Pay attention to the scene where Roman explains why he insists on using "Esquire." It’s a tiny moment that explains his entire worldview.
To get the most out of the movie, pay attention to the background details in Roman's apartment. The posters and the thousands of vinyl LPs were hand-picked by the production team to show that Roman isn't just "old"—he's deliberately preserving a specific moment in history that he feels the world has unfairly abandoned.