'BlacKkKlansman' Star Reveals His Secret Love of 'Sex and the City'

"Ask me trivia on 'Sex and the City,' and I will know it," says John David Washington, who wishes he could vote in New York for gubernatorial candidate Cynthia Nixon

John David Washington — star of Spike Lee's BlacKkKlansman, which is vying at Cannes for the Palme d'Or — boasts a hidden talent. The Ballers actor can quote verbatim from all 94 episodes of Sex and the City. "Ask me trivia on Sex and the City, and I will know it," dares Washington. "I rewatch it every year. Samantha? Charlotte? Those are my girls."

As for his other, more publicized talent, breaking tackles as a former St. Louis Rams running back, Washington says he learned all about acting rejection through football, recalling a general manager who "told me I'd never play in the NFL again, and he ended up being right. I sat waiting for almost an hour for him to tell me that.

"So when you get rejected from a casting agent or they don't want you for an audition, it doesn't compare to that feeling. I was ready. I was ready for rejection." When asked if, as Denzel's eldest son, he's auditioned for parts he hasn't gotten, Washington says: "All the time. I'm zero for about a hundred right now."

That could soon change as Lee's BlacKkKlansman debuted to a 6-minute standing ovation in Cannes on Sunday night, and Washington, in particular, was singled out for his lead role.