Ever since his debut in the 1970s, Denzel Washington has set a standard of excellence in the field of acting that has inspired and motivated his peers. Today, the sixty-six-year-old thespian views his place in the industry from a different perspective from when he first started out. In a recent interview with Reel Chicago, the actor revealed how watching his co-stars Jared Leto and Rami Malek film a scene for the recently releasedThe Little Thingsreminded Washington of how far he had come in his career.

“Watching, there’s a scene we shot with Jared and Rami and they’re in the interrogation room. And I’m in the observation room. The cameras were all in there the first half of the day or whatever and I’m just in the observation room, missing the popcorn, just watching these two young guys go at it. Whatever amount of years ago, 30 years ago, I was the young guy with Gene Hackman or whoever. But now I’m the guy watching the young guys. It was fascinating… towatch their joustif you will.”

The Little Thingstells the story of Joe “Deke” Deacon, played byDenzel Washington, a Kern County Deputy Sheriff, who is obsessed with catching a serial killer who escaped his clutches years ago and has now resurfaced. Deacon is joined by Rami Malek as LASD Detective Jim Baxter, who has his own way of doing things, and has been advised against involving Deacon in the investigation.

The duo manage to temporarilyput their differences asideto work on the case. They come to the conclusion that the killer must be a man named Albert Sparma, a lowly repair store worker who is obsessed with crime and is mentally unstable. The rest of the movie sees the three characters spar with each other and the truth of the murders.

While the actors have all received acclaim for their roles inThe Little Things, Leto has been particularly singled out for praise. The actor is well-known forgoing all-in with method actingwhile playing his characters, even if it inconveniences his co-stars. In the case ofThe Little Things, Washington previously revealed Leto abstained from pulling any method acting stunts, perhaps out of respect for Washington’s seniority. In fact, it was the veteran actor who stalked Leto without his knowledge to get into character.

“[Leto] didn’t do any of that [method acting tricks] with me. Nah. He’d have been paid a visit. That wouldn’t happen… I stayed away from him. He stayed away from me, respectfully so. We’d bow or nod from across the highway. Literally, one day we nodded across the highway from each other….I’d follow him around. I was outside of his apartment sometimes and he didn’t know. I won’t say anything more about it. I’ll put it this way, he didn’t know.”

Starring Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto, Michael Hyatt, Chris Bauer, and Natalie Morales,The Little Thingsis playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max. This news arrives fromReel360.