Equalizer 2, Denzel Washington's first sequel, gives him something new

Denzel Washington does not do things twice - until vigilante action thriller The Equalizer 2 came along.

On returning to a signature role after never having done a sequel in his career, he said at our interview at the Four Seasons hotel in Los Angeles: "I've been in this business for 40 years and I've never done anything a second time. The excitement for me comes when I do something new."

The US actor added: "This film is more of a personal journey for (Robert) McCall because it is about what happens to people he has allowed into his life. He was a man who wasn't going to allow anyone into his life, and now, when he opens up to a couple of people, it is not good."

Opening here tomorrow, Washington, 63, returns as the former Marine and intelligence operative who fights for justice for the downtrodden. But this time, the battle becomes personal with the murder of his former handler and best friend Susan (Melissa Leo).

As he investigates her murder, he is brought back into contact with his former team who continued working even as McCall walked away by faking his own death.

This is Washington's fourth time working with US director Antoine Fuqua, who directed him to a Best Actor Oscar for 2001's Training Day, followed by The Equalizer (2014) and The Magnificent Seven (2016).

When I was a young actor, acting was my life. When John David was born, acting became making a living. Denzel Washington on how fatherhood changed his perspective of life

Washington is notoriously difficult to interview. And this time, it seems like he is bored promoting his latest movie, and answers have to be pulled out from him.

When asked how he prepared for the strenuousness of the action and physicality of the role, he had only this to say: "Stretching was more important this time than it was four years ago, a lot of stretching. Happy to see I can still do all those things."

There is a climactic final sequence shot in a simulated Category 5 hurricane. It took almost a month on the south shore of Massachusetts, in the town of Brant Rock, which was taken over by the production.

Debris was scattered everywhere, huge jet fans were employed that drowned out the actors' dialogue, and 30 to 40 giant tanks created waves crashing over walls.

Production halted when the sun came out as there is no sun during a hurricane.

But when asked about it, this is all Washington offered: "Again, for us it was over a long period of time, so it was tedious, it was bit by bit, by bit, by bit and getting up there and finally I couldn't wait to get to the fight, finally. Then we shot that for a week or two just running around, jumping around. I like my job."

Surprisingly, he is a little more forthcoming when we don't talk about The Equalizer 2.

Family comes first with him and he is willing to say something about parenting after a little prodding. He has four children - including eldest son, actor John David Washington, 34 - with his wife Pauletta Pearson.

He said: "This is what I do for a living, but it is not my life. When I was a young actor, acting was my life. When John David was born, acting became making a living. He came out and I was like, 'Woah'. And he is looking at you like, 'Well, who are you first of all, where is mum? I don't trust you, and get me something to eat and I need clothes'.

"So right away you get about the business of taking care of doing what you are supposed to. I've got to get out here and get a job. Then you look up and it is 30 years later."

John David Washington is the star of Spike Lee's latest movie BlacKkKlansmen, and Dad is happy to talk about his son's success at the recent Cannes Film Festival premiere.

"I knew that John David as a kid was a great actor. He got a copy of (my 1989 film) Glory and learnt almost every line of every character. I had to get him a uniform. He had the little suit, the gun. You could put him in front of the old console TV, so he was about eye level with it, and he'd stand in front of that thing and just act. So it wasn't any surprise.

"And he has always been good with accents. He can do a Jamaican accent, British accent, he can go from one to the other. So he has got the gift," he said.

Washington's current Broadway stint for The Iceman Cometh also brings forth some enthusiasm.

He said: "Man, I love the theatre. That is my first love as an actor. What you get back from the audience, you don't get that in film or television, as a director or actor. The theatre is the material, the actors and the lights and the sets and everything come together.

"But the last element of a play is the audience. And each audience is completely different and they take on a life of their own and the show takes on a life with this particular audience on a particular night. It is a discipline. I just think it is the best thing for an actor, to work on the stage."

When asked if he is a good listener, Washington has a telling answer that maybe sums up how this interview went.

He said: "I am not good, I'll be honest, because I've always got answers. I am too fast. They say 'think twice, speak once'. I speak twice and think once. I am trying. I am a work in progress."

The writer is the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, a non-profit organisation of entertainment journalists that also organises the annual Golden Globe Awards.