Denzel Washington on Fathers, Sons and Equalizer 2

LOS ANGELES – Sitting in a Four Seasons Suite, Denzel Washington and Ashton Sanders exude a distinct father-son vibe. Washington, a veteran Sanders actor at age 40, holds the star of Moonlight responsible for his goals as only a parent figure and a mentor can.

"You just said," I want to be like "Yes," said Washington, "said Sanders, his face falling like a toddler.

" And then you said, "I will – & # 39; "

Sanders has frustrated him to interrupt it:" I have already started doing it. Shit. "

Washington burst out laughing

" What, you mean you earned $ 10 million? Why not make 20? "

The two stars of The Equalizer 2 look at each other.The eyes of Washington are filled with pride and joy, Sanders' with aplomb and gratitude. Is like looking in a mirror, what was once and what can be.

Equalizer 2 picks up where the original of 2014 – which s & # 39; vaguely supported on the 1980s procedural TV series with Edward Woodward – was arrested Robert McCall of Washington, an ex-civil servant turned vengeful angel, still distributes justice to the exploited and oppressed.

Although Antoine Fuqua's action-crime thriller deserves his R rating for violence, there is an unexpected emotional line-time thanks to a relationship that McCall is building with a teenage neighbor (Sanders) about to take on bad life decisions.When a group of men seeking to kill McCall takes the young man hostage, McCall faces tough choices

The film also marks the first time Washington has made a sequel in his 40-year career.

I do not know the word "suite" That does not mean anything to me. It's a commercial term, "he said. "It was just a story and a character that still interested me."

The exploration of a father-son substitute relationship in the screenplay of Richard Wenk (who also wrote the first film) helped. the bones were there, and even though I had not met Ashton yet, the idea was good, "he said. He noted that their mentor-mentee relationship "was growing as we knew each other and that (the film) was becoming an extension of our inter-company conversations."

"It was natural for me because I have two sons was like my third son," Washington continues. "He was asking questions and I was answering, or trying to, things that he wanted to know about the case."

For Sanders, who was 20 years old while Moonlight was in production and is now 22, working with Washington and Fuqua was a life goal and influenced his decision to seek the role.

"They are masters in their craft, and I watched Denzel for a minute," he said. "I just wanted to be on stage with him and work with him and learn from him."

He called the relationship between his character, Miles, and Washington's McCall "important."

"Miles represents a lot of black boys Living in similar situations trying to understand each other, without really having a father figure to be there to point you in the right direction," he said. said. "Miles is not the worst kid, but he engages in things that he should not be, so it's a story of hope in the hood. "

In the film, the character of Washington continues his task of reading the 100 books should read before he dies, a promise he made after the death of his wife, who had almost completed the listing. The 98th book of the list is the book of Ta-Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me written in 2015 by the author as a letter to his son about being black in America.

"says Washington, and it's a detail he's made after meeting Coates while dining with Ryan Coogler, director of Black Panther

" Ryan said : "I want you to meet this young writer. , Ta-Nehisi, "reminded Washington." He's there at dinner. We start talking. He tells me about his book and his life and how he grew up. So I asked him if I could put it in the movie. "

Sanders was" familiar "with the book, although he had not read it.

" I started reading it between takes, when we would have like 30 minutes off, "he said." He was very appropriate to the relationship in the film. "

Other books highlighted include Marcel Proust In Search of Lost Time Hermann Hesse Siddhartha and Richard Wright Native Son – the latter was recently adapted into a film by the artist Rashid Johnson and is scheduled for release on the 39th. next year Moonlight A24 distributor with Sanders in a lead role.

When asked "People ask me this question and I always say it depends on what they bring", a he said, "I do not like to preach."

Sanders agreed, noting that his approach to his career was to undertake projects who "continue to tell authentic stories to which people can identify."

"I never want to do anything that does not teach anything to someone" he said. "I think it's our crafts of artists to use our craft to teach."

But something that he learned from this movie, working closely with Washington, is "more than anything, trust my artistic spirit"

"And to keep it simple" , he added, while Washington nodded. "I tend to think too much." I have this perfectionist mindset, and he caught me in that on set. It was, like, "Yo, chill. This n & # 39; It's not so deep, mistakes are the best part, you're here to do what you've been hired for. "

Washington interrupted with a smile:" You already have the job. to wrap in three days and you're still auditioning. "

The veteran of the stage and screen who has won two Oscars and a Tony over the years has credited his mother to teach her to keep it simple. Although he said that he had to learn the lesson the hard way.

"But I'm at a place where I want to share what I know," said Washington. "I want to pbad it on and see others succeed, we should all go back, not just when you get to my age, we all have a responsibility."