Denzel Washington Relishes Chance To Play A Down-To Earth Hero

TORONTO - Denzel Washington doesn't play the devil. Nor does he wear a dress. After all, this is not "To Wong Foo . . ."

The movie is "Devil in a Blue Dress" and Denzel Washington is Easy Rawlins, a reluctant private investigator in post-World War II Los Angeles.

For Washington, it is a return to earth after a series of highbrow roles - doctors, lawyers and submarine officers.

"Easy is a reluctant hero," Washington, 41, said. "He's an average guy who just gets thrown into this bizarre set of situations. He just wants to make enough money to pay his rent but he ends up suspected of murder. He can't get out."

Washington looked no worse for wear following a near-riot the night before when he showed up at a party following the world premiere of the movie. It was the closing night of the Toronto International Film Festival and the party was held on three floors of a shopping mall near the theater. The throng was calm until the star arrived. Even though he was in a roped-off section, the crowd stormed him, seeking autographs and a close look. With the help of security guards, he escaped.

Don Cheadle, who steals a number of scenes in the movie as Mouse, Easy's trigger-happy sidekick, shook his head. "I'd love to get the roles that Denzel gets," he said, "but I don't envy him having to live that life. He's had to sacrifice his privacy - everything. He can't go anywhere."

Carl Franklin, the director of "Devil in a Blue Dress," said

"His privacy is a part of Denzel's attraction. He holds secrets. Paul Muni did that. So does De Niro and, of course, Brando did it. It's a part of Denzel. He doesn't let you know too much.

Call for more black heros

Franklin, 46, said that "Shaft," in its day, "may not have been a great movie, but it put a black hero out there for the young men to see. I always hated that they called those movies `black exploitation' films.

"There was a long, empty, period until Spike came along, with more serious fare - fare that was still commercial. I feel there's a place for a black detective who is not funny. This isn't `Cotton Comes to Harlem.' "

Continued Franklin, "We need a male, black hero on screen right now. For the past decade, young male blacks have been unpopular in the mainstream. They're seen as people who make trouble, don't have jobs, and leave women pregnant on welfare rolls. That's not the only picture that should be out there."

Washington said he went to see "Shaft" and "Sweet Sweetback" when he was a kid "but I knew they weren't the best films. There was only so much change to go to the movies, so I chose carefully."

Now he gets $10 million per picture but claims his life is relatively simple. He sounds a bit guilty, though, when he admits he drives a Porsche, a Mercedes and a Ferrari. "Cars are my weakness," he said.

He laughs a lot but he got uptight when a member of the Canadian press asked him if "Devil in a Blue Dress" would stand a chance of "crossing over to the white audience."

He gave her a flaring look as he said, "I don't think in that way. An audience is an audience. `Crimson Tide' took in over $100 million in the United States alone. I don't have any way of knowing why people went, but they went. I think I've already passed that stage."

"Devil" is the third Denzel Washington movie to come out this year. First, there was the big hit, "Crimson Tide," in which he sparred with Gene Hackman with nuclear weapons. Then there was the less successful computer-thriller "Virtuosity." ("I made that one because my son wanted me to be in an action movie like that," he said.)

Within weeks, he starts work on a military-action movie called "Courage Under Fire," produced by his own company.

Started in a barber shop

Denzel Washington's father, a Pentecostal preacher, was born in Virginia. His mother was from Georgia. Born and raised in Mount Vernon, N.Y., Washington's first job, at age 11, was cleaning up at the local barber shop and in his mother's beauty shop. "The greatest dramas in the world were played there," he remembered. "Everyone met there to tell stories. The beauty shop was just as interesting as the barber shop, but I was after getting a dollar from anyone who would give me one."

His parents separated when he was 14 and there have been repeated stories of trouble with his stepfather - stories that he doesn't confirm.

He majored in journalism at Fordham University but dropped out for a semester before finally graduating in 1977. "I covered the City Council meetings to write news stories," he said, but soon found acting more to his liking. With a scholarship to the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, he got to the West Coast. He met Pauletta when she was a co-star in his first big acting job, a TV-movie called "Wilma," the story of Olympic track star Wilma Rudolph. He played the boy friend.

Washington's career path

His first big movie role was "Carbon Copy," in which he played George Segal's illegitimate black son. He remembers that he was on the unemployment line a week after the movie finished. In New York, "A Soldier's Play" was a hit Off-Broadway. A role in the hit TV series "St. Elsewhere" gave him a steady income, and notoriety. He hasn't been out of work since.

His movies are notable, though, for a lack of love scenes. Even in "Devil in a Blue Dress," the sexual affair with the character played by Jennifer Beals has been changed from the book to the point that it doesn't exist. "I guess I am a little uncomfortable with love scenes," he said, "but I'll play what is in the script, if I take the script."

No contracts have been signed for a movie versions of the three book-sequels that chronicle the adventures of Easy Rawlins. "Generally, I don't want to do sequels, but let's see how this one goes," Washington said. "If people like it enough, and there's another good script, it could work."

"I haven't ever felt controlled," he said. "Racism may be a part of life in America but I don't feel I was limited by it. If you think something limits you, then you are limited, but I don't think that way. All I had to do to get where I am is to work hard. It is true that I once had less options than I have now, but I always had some options."