Manchurian Candidate star 'never saw original'
Denzel Washington told today how he coped with the pressure of filling the shoes of Frank Sinatra in a modern-day version the 1960s classic, The Manchurian Candidate – he never watched the original.
Washington plays the role of a US soldier who believes he has been brainwashed during war.
The part was originally played by Sinatra – alongside Angela Lansbury – in 1962.
Man on Fire star Washington said he was not intimidated by taking the baton from Sinatra.
“I haven’t seen (the original) and I made a point not to,” he said.
“But from what I understand, there’s been quite a few twists from the original,” he told the TV show Entertainment Tonight.
Washington plays Captain Bennett Marco, serving alongside Sergeant Raymond Shaw, played by Live Schreiber.
Washington said he was not worried about people comparing the new version with the 60s classic.
“I think, what an opportunity to share it again, to get the opportunity to interpret great roles and to put our own spin on it,” he said.
The movie opens in the United States on July 30 but does not come to British screens until November.
