Top gunAt the top of his profession, Denzel Washington secures
some of the best roles in Hollywood. Washington’s latest role in
the action film Crimson Tide displays his versatility.
By Michael Horowitz
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Crimson Tide is described by its producers as a "cerebral
thriller" and sends overt warnings to audiences about the nuclear
threat in an age of uncertain opposition.
Yet its star, Denzel Washington, is hardly ideological about the
meaning of the film. What is Crimson Tide’s message to
Washington?
"Have fun in the summertime," he grins.
Then he shifts into a mock-serious thespian soundbite.
"Nuclear weapons are bad," he states, "that’s the reason I did
this film."
Washington is not one to view his status of celebrity as a
soapbox.
"It’s just to have fun, " he says."It’s a movie. I watched it
yesterday, and I knew what was going to happen, but I was like
‘Whoa!’"
With a good-natured, infectious laugh he shirks off any further
inquiries of social significance. He’s willing to talk modestly
about his role as a leading African-American actor, and he’s always
ready to promote the Boys and Girls Club, because he feels he can
speak about it "honestly," but most of his talk with The Bruin
concerns acting, which is, after all, his profession.
Clad entirely in black, he sits back at the Marina Del Rey Ritz
Carlton during a full weekend of press interviews with the easy
grace and palpable charisma he brings to his acclaimed roles.
The standout star of Malcolm X, Glory and Philadelphia twirls a
makeshift ring he’s formed from a paper clip with his fingers as he
talks.
"This morning was tough," Washington laughs, relating his
truncated breakfast with his wife Paulette and his four children.
"My son had his baseball game this morning, and I was sitting in
there with all four of them trying to explain to them what I was
doing today."
So he detailed the numerous interviews he’s obliged to give
television, print and radio. "When I finally explained it," he
says, "they were like ‘oh, that’s too bad, dad!’"
Yet what makes Washington’s schedule much more exhaustive is
that every weekday he’s been shooting another action thriller, the
futuristic Virtuosity, here in Los Angeles. He gets home around
2:30 a.m. most nights, to sleep a few hours and return to the set
early in the morning, making time with his children a precious
commodity. "They’re asleep when I leave," he sighs, "and asleep
when I get home."
Yet at least he’s been filming in Los Angeles. Washington admits
that he’s partly chosen his last few projects because of the allure
of staying close to home and family.
"At least they know right now that when I walk out the door, I’m
coming back that evening," he says. "When you’re on the road making
films, they’re not sure if you’re going to 7-11 or
Philadelphia."
Yet the primary reason Washington chose Crimson Tide had nothing
to do with shooting location or social commentary. He picked it
because it was a great script with some strong roles and his
co-star was the talented Gene Hackman.
"One of the good things about this film is that it’s good
theater," he says. "Very rarely nowadays in film do you get scenes
like that confrontation scene between Gene and I where you have
eight or nine pages of dialogue and a scene that really builds to a
crescendo."
Washington plays Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter, second in
command of the nuclear missile submarine Alabama. Hackman plays
Captain Frank Ramsey, Hunter’s superior, and quickly Hunter’s
adversary when a command crisis threatens the fate of the sub and
the future of the world.
"It was kind of easy to play," says Washington, "because the
beats were there. Then on top of that, you’re working with a
brilliant actor, so his rhythm and instincts are so good, it’s just
a nice joust. You sort of slowly work your way up to it. I didn’t
have to come in screaming. I just came in underneath."
The confrontation ultimately leaves Washington’s character
acting insubordinate to Hackman’s, and leads to a situation in
which both characters summon their comrades to take control of the
submarine. As the taut action thriller tightens its screws, a
mutiny occurs.
And as believable as this situation seems to audiences, allowing
your film to contain the M-word has drastic consequences. The U.S.
Navy, at first cooperative, maintains there has never been a mutiny
on an American ship. As soon as they realized the specifics of
Crimson Tide’s story, they were not inclined to help out in
production.
"I wasn’t allowed to get on any submarines," says Washington,
hardly put out, "but I had a chance to read a lot of books and look
at a lot of tapes and stand in closets to read my lines a lot."
An enormous set for the submarine interiors was constructed upon
a device called a gimble, which allowed the entire construction to
be tilted 40 degrees in every angle. Director Tony Scott’s camera
work and his incredibly realistic set simulate a submarine’s
movement, motion and claustrophobia.
"We filmed on a set, so there was always one wall missing," says
Washington, "but through his camera he tried to give you that sense
of tightness and he always had us sweating or with steam around,
and the feeling that we were all hunched over, and because I think
it was built to scale, you did have to hunch over."
"You really had to walk uphill and downhill and sideways and you
had to hold on and watch your head."
Yet the physical challenges on the Culver Studios soundstages
were equaled by the acting challenge of portraying a character
almost entirely bound by military regulation. In most of the film,
"the bottom line is that (Ramsey’s) my superior officer. You got to
do what you’re told and take it out on the heavy bag."
Washington learned that the crews of these precious nuclear
submarines are handpicked to avoid the emotional problems of the
characters in the film. "The way that they’re trained, their
emotions don’t get involved," he says. "You just do what your part,
your chain of command is. It’s not ‘oh, how do I feel about
it?’"
He laughs about the plight of those who try to think for
themselves. "Those are the guys who are loading the food supplies,"
he jokes, as he slides into military mode: "’Oh, you have an
opinion? Good! Fifty crates over there! Put them on board!’"
Yet for the first time in the interview, Washington becomes a
little more serious. He says that while the events depicted in
Crimson Tide may be completely fictional, we have no idea of what’s
happening under the sea at this very moment.
"This is one of the things that the navy would say, ‘this would
never happen!’" he says, now leaning forward.
"Yeah, well, we’ll never know, will we?"