“He Stayed Away from me”: Denzel Washington Wasn’t Impressed By Jared Leto, Secretly Followed Him To His Apartment as He Was Suspicious
Two of a trade seldom agree. And not always do they find common ground. That’s what happened when Denzel Washington and Jared Leto starred in The Little Things. Both Academy Award recipients are extremely dedicated to their craft. The generational difference and each’s approach to portraying a character prevented them from getting on speaking terms.
Denzel Washington and Jared Leto on Different Ends of the Same Spectrum
Jared Leto has quite the reputation when it comes to embodying a character. He has risked his health, compromised his eyesight, and traumatised castmates just for the sake of delivering his best at his job. The Morbius star tends to get a bit reckless to get in the zone.
Denzel Washington‘s approach is rooted in realism. He is very pragmatic when it comes to acting and always delivers a stellar performance. With two fine actors with such clashing views, the atmosphere on set could get a little uncomfortable. But the fact that everything ran smoothly is a testament to both their characters.
The Man on Fire star admitted that he didn’t have to put up with any of Leto’s antics. He clarified that had he been subjected to such a thing, he wouldn’t have had the time or the patience to deal with it.
“He didn’t do any of that with me. Nah. He’d have been paid a visit. That wouldn’t happen. I stayed away from him. He stayed away from me, respectfully so. We’d bow or nod from across the highway. One day we nodded across the highway from each other. I’d follow him around. I was outside of his apartment sometimes and he didn’t know. I won’t say anything more about it. I’ll put it this way, he didn’t know.”
The occurrence of a pair as eclectic as Leto and Washington together is rare. They both understood what they need to do for their roles and delivered.
Denzel Washington Turned Into A Real Life Spy
Even though Washington isn’t keen on adopting severe measures to get into character, he has his ways to ensure he gets in the character’s mind. Washington plays Deputy Sherif Joe Deacon in John Lee Hancock’s psychological thriller. Deacon suspects Albert Sparma, played by Leto, of murder and keeps tabs on him. To understand hid the role of the Sheriff better, Washington gained some weight because he felt his character was “overweight, over the hill”.
He also brought the surveillance part of the movie into real life as well. He followed Leto around without the latter’s notice. He mentioned in an interview:
I’d follow him around. I was outside his apartment sometimes and he didn’t know.
He refused to elaborate on the matter.
Source: USA Today
