“It’s a brutal, brutal scene”: The role Denzel Washington insisted on torturing himself for
Throughout his career, Denzel Washington has embodied a fearless dedication to his acting roles. In every character, he imbues a deep psychological exploration informed by a process of extensive research, with Washington diving into the nuances and minutiae of their personal lives and habits.
Whether portraying a ruthless drug lord in American Gangster, a corrupt cop in Training Day or a critical historical figure in Malcolm X, Washington has always approached his roles with an unrivalled commitment, proving his deep-set work ethic and boundless professionalism.
There was one movie in particular where Washington took his acting dedication to the next level. In the 2012 action thriller film Safe House, Washington plays a veteran CIA operative who is accused of having betrayed the agency, while Ryan Reynolds plays the officer in charge of the safe house where Washington’s character is being interrogated.
One scene, in particular, was of great danger to the actor, but Washington refused to use a stunt double, preferring to see what the experience of torture would be like, thus gaining a better understanding of his character’s situation. Both Washington and Reynold had been in training with professionals in order to get into top shape for the film.
There was little Washington could do, though, to prepare for the moment his character was to be waterboarded. A stunt double was on hand for the torture method, but Washington told the film’s director, Daniel Espinosa, that he wanted to take on the scene alone.
In an interview with Vulture, Espinosa remember the moment Washington showed his acting bravery. The director noted, “I went up to Denzel and told him, ‘Time to go, now is the moment where the stunt guy kicks in,’ and he looked at me and he said, ‘Let’s go.’ ‘Are you sure?’ ‘I’m sure.’ And I was terrified, but I let him go and I had to watch him do it.”
Waterboarding is a method of torture in which water is poured over a cloth covering the face of a victim so they experience the sensation of drowning. Washington admitted that the experience was “strange”, to say the least. “You can’t breathe in, because the water comes in, and it’s filling up your mouth,” he said.
“That was just one time for a short time,” he added. “Imagine having that done for 20, 30 seconds?” Washington admitted that he would likely give up the information if he were to experience waterboarding for real, even if he would not “necessarily tell the truth.”
Reynolds witnessed the scene and noted how Washington had gone “all out” for Safe House. “I would definitely not like to be waterboarded,” he said. “It was intense. Disturbing. I had sympathetic pain. I always get sympathetic pain. I wish I didn’t. I felt like I was drowning.”
In the scene, Robert Patrick plays the person who does the waterboarding to Washington’s character, and he admits that the scene was largely the reason he wanted to do the film in the first place. “It’s a brutal, brutal scene, and I wanted to work with Denzel, and it’s a world I know a lot about,” he said before noting how Washington had managed to last around five seconds of the torture, which Patrick thought was “pretty damn good”.
See the cast and crew of Safe House discuss the scene below.
