Denzel Washington’s Message as We Celebrate MLK Day, Plus: His New Movie 'The Little Things'

"The Little Things" has not one but three leading men, all of whom are Oscar winners… Denzel Washington, Rami Malek and Jared Leto.

"Extra's" Rachel Lindsay caught up with the actors to talk about the new movie, and Washington reflected on Martin Luther King Jr. Day as well.

Speaking about Dr. King’s message of equality and how it resonates today, Denzel shared, “God is love. We are in dire need of more love. Martin Luther King was the personification of light and love and unity and strength and fearlessness and hope. I pray that we are inspired by the day, but more importantly, I pray we look at ourselves and ask, ‘What can I do? How can I help not just celebrate the day… to be inspired by the day and ask what can I do, moving forward?’”

While Washington has never shied away from taking on social issues in films, he has made a name for himself with big-screen crime thrillers like “The Little Things.” He plays a Kern County Deputy Sheriff, and told Rachel, “The uniform is the least of it… I don't ever think of it as... ‘Oh, it's another one of these’ unless I've read the script and it is ‘another one of these’ — then I try not to do it.”

Denzel’s character Joe “Deke” Deacon is searching L.A. for a serial killer with Rami’s Jim Baxter, an L.A. Sheriff Department officer. Leto, who plays a suspect named Albert Sparma, initially was not interested in the role, “Everyone involved ultimately made me unable to say no to the project… I didn’t want to just play a suspect or a villain per se… Getting to work with these two was and is a dream.”

Rami agreed, “The script was exceptional. I think we all flew right through it… Drawn, of course, to the idea of working with these two gentlemen, guys at the top of their game.”