It's 'Time' For Denzel Washington

Fresh from his directorial debut for the movie "Antwone Fisher," and his Academy Awarding-winning role in "Training Day," Denzel Washington is hard at work again.

In his latest project, the suspense thriller "Out of Time," he stars as a small-town police chief investigating a suspicious double homicide.

The Early Show's entertainment contributor Jess Cagle, sat down with Washington and talked to him about the movie.

"It's a kind of film that puts a lot in your stomach that you laugh at … that you yell at the screen," Washington says. "[The movie's] an interesting group of flawed people who get together and make a mess."

Like his character in "Training Day," Washington's character in "Out of Time," Matt Lee Whitlock, is a flawed police officer. Whitlock is chief of police with a staff of three.

"And one of them is, like, a crossing guard," Washington laughs.

Cagle wanted to know if Washington told his wife before hand that "Out of Time" would have a lot of love scenes.

"Love scenes in movies are not what you think," Washington responds. "It's 100 people in the room … You try to make it intimate, like it's just the two of you. But it's really very technical."

Many of Washington's fellow cast members, such as Eva Mendes, Sanaa Lathan and Dean Cain, have said they wanted to participate in "Out of Time," because of the opportunity to work with Washington.

"They're there because they're good," Washington explains. "And if they weren't good, they wouldn't have been here, you know? They got the opportunity to show their skills and to earn the job maybe because, I signed on."

Washington says he enjoys watching young actors succeed. He remembers starting out as an actor and meeting Sidney Poitier for the first time at a bookstore.

"I tried to give him my resume — my picture," he recalls. "I probably shouldn't have done what I did. But I was just so excited to see him. I'm saying this now and I'm going to start getting 9,000 kids coming up to me."

Washington, however, is reluctant to characterize himself as a role model.

"That's a tricky word, that role model thing," he says. "That sounds like somebody else is shirking their responsibility to me. I don't mind, I want to see them do well. I don't know if I'm their role model, per se. But you know, it, if that's what they think, that's cool."

Washington turns 50 next year and has the acclaim and respect of Hollywood plus the ability to demand $20 million a picture. But now, he says, his desire is modest.

"That my knees would work when I get up in the morning," he laughs. "You gotta, like, get over the side of the bed and just put those feet on the floor first."