Devil in a Blue Dress
Washington plays Ezekiel ‘Easy’ Rawlins in the crime drama Devil in a Blue Dress. Set in the 1940’s, Rawlins, a World War II veteran, returns home looking for a job. As a private investigator he takes on his first case which involves looking for a missing woman. With the war behind him, Rawlins steps into a new career full of corrupt cops, gangsters, and murder.
I really got into it as I did the research and started. I even went to Houston. I went to the Third Ward and I met guys who were kind of prominent in the neighborhood now. They introduced me to the old guys…
Heat
Portman stars as Lauren Gustafson in the 1995 crime-drama Heat, alongside veteran movie actors, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Val Kilmer. The actress plays the distraught stepdaughter of police lieutenant Vincent Hanna, played by Pacino. The film revolves around Hanna’s hunt for De Niro’s character, criminal Neil McCauley.
Jumanji
Williams stars in this fantasy drama as character Alan Parish, a boy who opened the board game Jumanji and was sucked into the game for decades before being freed by two new players. Parish must help to complete the game to return the horrors Jumanji has created.
There is a scene in the movie where you wrestle a crocodile and there is things in the movie that are computer effects and the rest an animatronic which means muppets on steroids. I was wrestling this crocodile and I pounding it on the head and I hear someone inside go “hey!”
Courage Under Fire
Washington plays Lieutenant Colonel Nathaniel Serling in the drama Courage Under Fire. After her death, Captain Karen Walden, played by actress Meg Ryan, is set to be the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor. As Serling investigates the incident and the worthiness of her the award, conflicting stories send him on a hunt for the truth.
I also had the opportunity to talk to many soldiers…who had fought in Desert Storm and other battles.
Jack
Williams stars in this comedy drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola. He plays Jack Powell, a boy who suffers from a rare disorder that ages his appearance four times faster than his actual age. The story depicts his struggles in dealing with this disorder as well as the relationships he builds with this family and friends. He co-stars with Diane Lane, Brian Kerwin, Jennifer Lopez and Bill Cosby.
But I think what made me want to play Jack was that innocent time before all that, riding bikes, friends in treehouses, all those things that loom on the boundaries of child and boy.
The Secret Agent
In the drama thriller directed by Christopher Hampton, based on the novel by Joseph Conrad, Williams plays an assassin who owns a porn shop London as a front. He really is an anarchist, who holds meetings in his apartment with plans to overthrow the government. Co-starring Bob Hoskins, Patricia Arquette, and Gerard Depardieu.
I don’t carry the characters around when I’m doing the movie, because it can be quite frightening for your family to come home as those people.
Mars Attacks!
Portman plays Taffy Dale in the 1996 sci-fi comedy Mars Attacks! In the film, Martians have attacked the world and everyone must fight for their survival. The actress teams up with an all-star cast of Hollywood actors including Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Annette Bening, Pierce Brosnan, and more.
The Preacher’s Wife
Washington plays Dudley in the comedy drama The Preacher’s Wife. Reverend Henry Biggs and his wife Julia, played by actors Courtney B. Vance and Whitney Houston, are losing their small Baptist church due to declining membership. Unsure of what to do, the reverend prays to God. A charming angel named Dudley comes along to show them the way. Houston on Washington:
Denzel’s funny, he likes to have fun and frolic around a lot.
Hamlet
Williams plays Osric in this drama directed by Kenneth Branagh based on the William Shakespeare play. Hamlet returns home to find out his father is dead and his mother is marrying his uncle who is his father’s murderer. Co-starring Billie Crystal, Julie Christie, and Derek Jacobi. Branagh on Williams:
(He’s) an actor who would be funny, but could also be real in the way I felt was necessary.
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
In this pastiche of James Bond films directed by Jay Roach, Myers stars as Austin Powers and as his arch-villain, Dr. Evil. Myers also wrote the script for the film in about three weeks after spouting the hero’s trademark catchphrases to his wife. Myers says Roach encouraged the cast to go off-script: “About 30 to 40 percent is improv.”
Fellow SNL star Ferrell appears in a small role as Mustafa, Dr. Evil’s Moroccan (and resilient) henchman.
Father’s Day
Williams and Billy Crystal co-star in this comedy about two men—playing Dale Putley and Jack Lawrence—in search of a runaway teenager. Their girlfriend of 17 years past tells them both that they are the boy’s father, in hopes that at least one of them will find the boy. Director Ivan Reitman says about the two stars:
I always wished that Father’s Day turned out better. We didn’t quite get it right and I always sort of felt responsible and guilty about not doing a better job for the two of them because they’re so brilliant.
Flubber
Directed by Les Mayfield, this comedy film is a remake of the 1961 movie “The Absent Minded Professor.” Williams plays the role of Professor Philip Brainard, with Marcia Gay Harden co-starring as his fiancé and Sara Jean Reynolds as the college president. Brainard attempts to perfect his invention of “flubber” – a bouncy, elastic material – in order to raise money to save the sinking college, and in the process misses his own wedding three times in a row.
He performs the stunt scenes himself, which involv jumping to heights of 30 feet after applying flubber to his shoes:
We had six or seven guys hauling me up, groaning, ‘Oh, no! Don’t go again! We’re not hauling your ass up there again!’
Good Will Hunting
Williams stars in this critically-acclaimed film directed by Gus Van Sant. He plays Dr. Sean Maguire, a therapist who works with a gifted MIT janitor named Will Hunting—played by Matt Damon. As he counsels Hunting, he also learns to deal with his own personal demons. The film also stars Ben Affleck, Minnie Driver and Stellan Skarsgard.
What drew me to the role just was the idea of a guy trying to give back, who hadn’t been practicing in a while. Here he is, a vet with a history, with a life, an intelligent guy who admits he’s not as brilliant as the kid but who is saying, “You’re brilliant but you don’t know shit about certain things.” That appealed to me deeply.
Deconstructing Harry
In this comedy directed by Woody Allen, Williams plays a writer who friends and family realize that the characters and events in his books are actually things that have happened in real life, revealing this deepest secrets. Costars Judy Davis and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
I played a small role, … because, at some point, I made him laugh. Can you imagine? To make Woody Allen laugh!
Fallen
Washington plays detective John Hobbes in the crime thriller Fallen. Hobbes finally catches serial killer Edgar Reese, who is executed. However, he soon discovers more murders in the style of Reese. As he digs deeper, all of his clues point to an evil spirit named Azazel, which can transfer itself to anyone it pleases. The film also stars John Goodman and Donald Sutherland. On the theme of this film:
I believe in lesser manifestations of good. I believe that they exist, I believe that they do. I believe that we can give them power by the choices we make…
Meet the Deedles
Walker stars in Meet the Deedles as Phil Deedle. He and his fraternal twin, Stew Deedle played by Steve Van Wormer, are surf bums living off their wealthy father in Hawaii. The two are expelled from high school for truancy and their father decides to send them to a boot camp in Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming to straighten them out.
He Got Game
Washington plays Jake Shuttlesworth in the basketball drama He Got Game. Jesus Shuttlesworth, played by NBA star Ray Allen, is the top-ranked basketball player in the nation. Every college wants him. After being sent to prison after accidently killing his wife, Jake is told he will be released early if he gets his son to play ball for the Governor’s alma mater.
Well, I played ball in college. I’m over the hill now. I hung up my knees. I’ve had surgery on both knees, on one knee six or seven weeks before we started shooting. So when it came to the character, that became a part of my thing.
The Mask of Zorro
Zeta-Jones plays Elena in the action adventure The Mask of Zorro. 20 years after the death of his wife, Don Diego de la Vega is out for revenge. The original Zorro decides to train young Alejandro to wear the mask next in his place. He trains Alejandro and together they set out on a mission to save the townspeople and take down Don Rafael Montero.
I think Zorro was so great for me because no one knew where I came from. Everyone spoke Spanish to me forever after that. I’m from Wales.
Sting Unmasked
WCW releases Sting Unmasked on VHS home video. The documentary features highlights of Sting’s WCW career including his transition from surfer dude to silent crow to nWo wolfpac.
Pleasantville
Walker plays Skip Martin in the 1998 film Pleasantville. In the film, twins David and Jennifer are magically transported to Pleasantville, the location of a black and white 1950’s sitcom. Walker’s character has a love interest with Jennifer.
As far as preparation, I was pretty new coming into it. I consider myself really lucky…I didn’t have much experience as an actor, was pretty much out of the loop. Gary Ross, he took me in, walked me through the project and from what I hear it turned out pretty good.
