uh we're very pleased that our first guest is joining us here tonight he is an academy
award-winning Big Time Motion Picture star his latest movie entitled The Siege opens on Friday
ladies and gentlemen here's Denzel Washington Welcome to The Late Show thank you sir nice to
meet you my pleasure how about those Yankees how about them man pretty exciting wouldn't it
did you go to some of the games I went to the first uh World Series game yeah yeah with
Bruce Bruce Willis oh you and Bruce Willis oh my goodness so Bruce is like in in the movie with you
the coaster of The Siege now what is that like when you and Bruce go to a ball game at Yankee
Stadium you know they don't have peanuts in the Cracker Jacks like they used to they don't I went
I went through the Cracker Jack box and couldn't find any then I dropped them it's true and what is
Bruce like when he's out among folks Bruce is cool he's regular as regular as he can be you know with
people calling him he's not hooked up right though is he necessarily you mean married or anything no
no no no no no no no no no no no no I don't mean that oh I mean just just hooked up just you know
hooked up you mean like yeah and his brain just DC he he sees the world a little differently
what do you think a little bit no it's even normal to me what like what like you know
just kind of he's a wacky sort of a fellow in a good positive no positive good healthy
Cracker Jack sort of yeah yeah did you uh did you play sports I noticed you got a baseball
hat and a tennis ball I found this in the in the hallway coming in it's true so I walked in the
door and this was on the floor well that's what I worked it it's mine now sure it is
some shows give out fruit baskets we you know tennis balls in the floor and polish
ham I heard you yeah oh sure yeah if this goes well you'll get it hahaha hey Google
[Music] you're from just up north and Westchester when you're a kid born in uh what town is Mount
of Vernon Mount Vernon yeah and did you know early on I mean uh I I don't know what it would be like
living that close to New York City and not having it exert a tremendous force a tremendous pull on
you I lived literally I grew up on the borderline of Mount Vernon and the Bronx there's a school up
there Mount St Michael I grew up right across from Mount St Michael Academy in North Brighton did you
find early on as a kid you would come into the city did you know early on did you come in and go
to movies and stuff you know a lot of people do that yeah we should go to movies on 42nd street
when they were still you know when you could go to movies there and uh you know [Laughter] sneak
on the train and um we used to I remember going to Yankee Stadium to a football Clinic back when the
Giants used to play there and I actually am old enough to remember why a tittle and Homer Jones oh
wow yeah remember that great photo of Wyatt on his knees blood just gushing off his nose and steam
that was me that was that was the reason why yeah and Sam Huff like Sam Hunt number is 70 right yeah
the linebacker yeah it was a great day but did you know uh that you want to be a movie uh do
you want to be an actor you want to be a movie star when did that sort of how did that happen
I was a junior I went to to college right off the block Fordham University two years in the
Bronx [Applause] two years up in Rose Hill two years at Lincoln Center and uh when I transferred
to Lincoln Center I started taking some acting classes and uh because I was flunking everything
else when you take an acting class uh because when I when I watch you act it's it's like a one of a
handful of people it seems just effortless it seems very easy you know other people you can
kind of see them oh yeah you're an actor but you know so when when a guy like you goes to an
acting class what really can a person like you learn from an acting what did they teach you I
learned a lot I mean I studied for about eight years you know off and on at different times I
mean I think it's important I think a lot of the people that you can see acting one of the reasons
is because they haven't had any classes right or they have you know it's an easy thing to say I'm
an actor everybody can say that and everybody's right for one part right but uh your foundation
and your training is what's going to take you over the Long Long Haul is there something
that you learned in in one day in one of those classes that uh like on on this movie that was
about to open up that you can reach back and yeah one of the first lessons I learned and it relates
anybody could relate to this an acting teacher was saying okay a guy is going to walk into the
room to kill you right and the first guy comes in and says oh man I'm gonna break your neck
I'm gonna understand that you know right he says that's one version yeah the other guy walks in
you want some Thursday evening yeah kind of sure
and now you got to die now You Gotta Die oh just that was poison it was poisoned I have the worst
luck holy crap but just that less is more yeah you know that's but now when you're making a
movie is that decision left to the actor or to the director that less is more yeah or do however you
want to approach it like you just demonstrated two ways to do a scene who makes the final decision I
think ultimately the director I mean you'll you'll do it the way you want but you know you might be
doing that scene and they they may cut like to the cup you know if yeah oh yeah right no you're
very good don't worry moving on the cup yeah no you were great then it was beautiful what you
did you know what I hear a lot around whenever we do our little skits and stuff and we'll videotape
something and uh somebody will say that was perfect that was perfect let's just try one more
or we've got it now yeah we got what we want to play with play with play with ones have fun with
it have fun go nuts right uh you're working on a movie where you play a prize fighter yeah Reuben
Hurricane Carter oh that's a great story isn't it well I mean not not a great story but it's
a it's a it's a true story true story yeah yeah well it's it's a sad story ultimately
it's it's an uplifting Story I mean he's free now he spent 20 years in a Penitentiary for a
crime he didn't commit and uh he's he's free now how old a man is he 60 I better get it
right one I think and he's living I guess out of the country or he's living wouldn't you you know
[Laughter]
no no yeah he's living in Toronto yeah yeah and what do you guys spend some time with him
obviously yeah in fact he he was here uh up until yesterday and I spent some time with him up in
Toronto and good man and you you're playing him in the film I'm playing him now have you
fought before boxing news I've been training for a year I've been in a gym boxing for over a year
now and uh pretty good so oh you're pretty good all right I can go a little bit I see
you balling that fist something yeah I'm gonna I'm gonna take a swing at you that's what I'm
gonna do uh but uh uh now are you in one of these deals where it's like they're really
teaching you to fight or they're just kind of like I'm I'm sparring uh yeah I'm sparring now
if if the head gear on you yeah no sure no no absolutely you don't want to mess up your face
uh some nights I do the show with headgear do you yeah but if you and Sylvester Stallone who
could you and Rocky who would win if I was boxing Sylvester Stallone
no he couldn't be exactly
she's a tiny man well not not boxing maybe wrestling maybe maybe if you got a grip on me
a boxing no I'd knock him out why why no I would I wouldn't why doesn't that kind of stuff I would
why why don't you I would Dave I know you really man I would I knock him out uh hey let's see oh we
got all kind of stuff to talk about hang on there enjoy it enjoy your complimentary tennis ball yeah
then you used to like sing Bermuda oh man thank you for remembering my
hit that's so nice of you Paul and his wife went uh to vacation in Bermuda and
when he came back he had written a song about the experience Paul do you want to
share the folks oh I'd be through that crazy vacation kind of place that's it
I remember that that's a Nutty cuckoo kind of place Denzel yes it is Bermuda Bermuda
I'm just going to read a list of these films because it's very impressive and I'm not reading
this to embarrass you but if you have comments to make as we go up to list you know feel free to
speak right up all right A Soldier Story yes 1984 working with Norman jewison again now on Ruben
Hurricane Carter okay the director director uh Cry Freedom Academy Award nomination 1887. first
trip to Africa yeah Glory first whipping uh won the Academy Award for best supporting actor there
Mo Better Blues Spike Lee trumpet yeah drove my wife crazy playing around the house are you any
good nope yeah I wonder I wonder what Spike Lee is doing every night now that there's no
basketball where does this guy go now all right he's going to hockey game thank you um somehow
you just can't imagine Spike you know at a hockey game Malcolm X another Academy Award nomination
much to do about nothing Emma Thompson yeah Philadelphia of course Tom Hanks that was a
huge huge movie uh it's a nice guy yeah is that a piece that he's wearing do you think
all right uh Pelican Brief oh Julia Roberts man now now I see why he does wear a business
Crimson Tide this was a great film Gene Hackman there's a there's another Devil
in a Blue Dress Carriage Under Fire Meg Ryan oh my goodness uh the preacher's
wife Whitney Houston yes sir you were singing in that yes I was yeah uh Fallen John Goodman
John Goodman's another great guy yeah he's a nice man it was and uh he got uh still is yeah
very impressive very impressive body of work as they say on the television shows uh and now
you're working on the the boxing film and you've spent in time uh with boxers Joe Frazier and who
else you uh I had the Good Fortune one night I had I had Michael Spinks and Joe Frazier in my
my room watching tapes asking them their opinion of uh boxing styles tapes of great fights tapes
of their fights tapes of fights of Reuben uh tapes of my fights no uh just you know getting
their opinion and stuff both nice guys yeah Joe Frazier and Muhammad Ali those three Muhammad Ali
last night how's he doing he's doing well yeah I haven't seen him in years he was on on the old
show and uh I don't I don't pretend to know him but he just struck me as a sweet wonderful decent
fellow uh let's take a look at the uh the clip from The Siege you just tell folks what we're
going to look at here uh in this clip um I don't know what happens no we're moving in uh I play an
FBI agents anti-terrorist unit we're moving in on a man that we think is is the actual suspect
uh turns out he's not but the Army comes in and uh ruins our party and this was I understand I
believe was the the single biggest Film Production in the city of New York ever no huge shut down the
city top to bottom this this movement couldn't have been the biggest no I think there was some
big scene but it wasn't a big no no I think it was the biggest it's the biggest are you in this movie
no we shut down 42nd Street which was unbelievable I mean we shut down from
like 47th all the way down to Times Square unbelievable we shut down a Brooklyn Bridge
is that fun when you just walk around running the town like that not for the people that were
trying to get there yeah that's right yes sir Ray all right let's take a look here we go uh
this is a couple of seconds from the film uh The Siege Denzel Washington take a look folks
said right here in New York City and into a lot it's another day in New York City 's going on
all the time let's mention the uh the cast in the film it's yourself Annette Benning Annette
Benning a lovely woman a beautiful woman yeah and uh Bruce Willis Bruce Willis uh Tony shalu
uh who else Ed's Wick who I've worked with twice now courage Under Fire And Glory great director
and uh half of New York City it's going to be a big big film you think huge I sincerely hope so
it's a very good film and I hope you come back you haven't you haven't been here in a long time
never you've never been here I would come I wouldn't go by they wouldn't let me in Dave
and if Denzel Washington shows up don't let him in good to see you nice meeting you have a great time
[Music]