Denzel Washington piles on the beef for Pelham movie remake

Jul 30 2009 By Shereen Low

DENZEL Washington has cleverly managed to stay under the radar, away from the demand for interviews for more than a year.

Since the release of his last two films - American Gangster and The Great Debaters - in 2007, the Oscar-winning star has enjoyed a rare period of peace away from the glare of publicity.

"I haven't done press in a year and a half and haven't sat down with anyone since the last movie came out," says the 54-year-old, proudly.

Washington, who has been married to wife Pauletta for 25 years and has four grown-up children, is clear on how he has achieved what many celebrities can only dream of - managing to live his personal life in private.

"My life is really kind of regular and private and normal," he admits, with a shrug.

"It's just not interesting for the press to write about."

The sole reason why he is doing interviews today is to promote his new nail-biting thriller, The Taking Of Pelham 123.

In the remake of the 1974 movie, he plays Walter Garber, a New York City subway dispatcher who gets caught up in the middle of hostage negotiations during a subway hijacking.

The respected actor-director, who has two Oscar trophies adorning his mantelpiece at home, is almost unrecognisable because he had to pile on the pounds to play Walter, an opportunity he made the most of.

"You just don't exercise, eat late, and have that burger and all the fries and the shake and dessert and you can get there really easy," Washington reveals, laughing.

He adds: "I embraced it and really liked that aspect of this character that made him human and normal."

The extra weight - combined with a recent operation - posed a few problems for the middle-aged actor, especially during the running scenes.

"I had just had knee surgery and it was heavily wrapped and the last thing the doctor said was, 'Now don't do any running!'" he recalls.

"When you see me run, that is 18 or 19 takes of me running really hard. So that was challenging because then your ego is involved and you are thinking, 'I can't be out here huffing and puffing and looking bad', even though I'm overweight and had surgery. So I'm thinking, 'Wait, I have to have some sense of style and grace about this!'" Washington, who was raised in NewYork but now lives in Los Angeles, admits he enjoyed returning to his home town for the shoot.

"I've done a lot of movies in New York and to me, it was like home," he reminisces.

"I grew up in NewYork and subways were the way to get around. I spent many many hours on subways as a kid.

"Just to sit there and remember days when I was a kid and didn't have enough money to get on the train and I would have to sneak on, and now I am sitting there at the same subway stations in a hundred million-dollar movie. Life is so interesting."

The Taking Of Pelham 123 teams Washington with John Travolta for their first on-screen adventure together. "It was fun because he was a really sweet person, one of the nicest people I've ever worked with," he says.

"I didn't know him but I'd met him before. It was an interesting relationship and interesting the way it developed, the way it did in the film."

Washington, who received Academy Awards for his starring roles in Training Day and Glory, has been more hands-on behind the scenes, and sat in the director's chair for Antwone Fisher and The Great Debaters.

With an unblemished track record, he admits he never scrutinises his past work.

"I don't think back.What I've done is done, the past is the past and I don't believe in looking back," he says.

He adds: "All I care about is decent material. If it ain't on the page, it ain't on the stage!"