Denzel in a cat-and-mouse game

MANILA, Philippines - Columbia Pictures’ new action thriller The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 frames the hijacking of a subway train and the subsequent standoff between cops and crooks as a terrifying cat-and-mouse game, pitting an ordinary, overburdened train dispatcher, played by Denzel Washington, against a mercurial vengeful killer portrayed by John Travolta.

 Washington says that he was attracted to the role of Walter Garber by finding a most unusual character at the center of the action-thriller. “He’s not a cop, he is a civil servant,” the actor explains. “When he’s confronted with the hostage-taker’s demands, he’s like, ‘Look, where’s the hostage negotiator? This is not what I do.’ Garber is not a superhero. He’s scared.”

The filmmakers, including director Tony Scott, had only one name in mind for their leading man. “Only an actor like Denzel Washington, with his powerful screen presence and immense talent, could make such an ordinary character in an ordinary desk job so compelling to watch,” says screenwriter Brian Helgeland.

Nor did it hurt that Washington had a long history with Scott, starring in three of the director’s films, Dejavu, Man on Fire and Crimson Tide. “He’s the best, he has a good heart,” Washington says about Scott. “Tony works harder than anybody, so whenever he calls I come running.”

Scott was impressed by Washington’s take on the character. “He said, ‘I’ve played FBI, I’ve played CIA.’ He recently played a hostage negotiator in Inside Man, so he didn’t want to do that. He was looking for something different. We found the difference in simplicity. Denzel plays Garber as the Everyman, the guy next door, in a very honest way, and it’s the perfect counterpoint to John Travolta’s angry character.”

For the role, Washington talked to veteran subway workers, including one who just retired after 60 years. But in a sense, Washington had spent many years preparing for the role. “I grew up in New York and I took the 2 train from 241st and White Plains Road every day,” he says. “When I was a kid, I’d go between cars, between stations, sneak down the side of the train. You never went too far. It was interesting, after 30 years, to be on the subway.”

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 was also unusual for the actors in that the two main characters, Garber and Ryder (Travolta), are apart for so much of the film. Garber is above ground in the control center as Ryder manipulates him from the subways below. “For the first six weeks, I didn’t even see John,” says Washington. “We were both on set, but I was in one room and he was in another. We had a very interesting scene in which he embarrasses Garber; he finds out a lot about Garber and vice versa. We develop a relationship, twisted as it may be. The trick, when you have these two characters on opposite ends, is how you’re going to get them together.”

Opening today, The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is distributed by Columbia Pictures, local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.