“So this idea that if you’re making your scene partner happy you’re doing a good job, I don’t think so, I think that you want to have conflict.”
It’s a nice analogy from Ethan Hawke on Denzel’s acting (and by all accounts real life) persona, and was very much on his mind ahead of filming on 2001’s Training Day.
“The trap with other actors often is that, if you’re doing what they want you to do, what you’re doing is making it easy for them.
Denzel can dominate a scene like no other – the man has charisma, presence, humour and aggression for days – so how do you star opposite him without being chewed up and spat out?