The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 is a remake of 1974 and 1998 Taking of Pelham One Two Three. It is directed by Tony Scott and stars John Travolta and Denzel Washington. Travolta plays criminal mastermind Bernard Ryder who hijacks a New York City Subway 6 train and Denzel Washington is forced into a face-off to save the hostage passengers.

Washington and Travolta talked their similarities including growing up in the tri-state area and what it was like working with Tony Scott.

Q: What’s it like playing a bad guy?

Travolta: Well, playing a bad guy is always a freeing experience because you don’t have the same envelope of restrictions as you playing a good guy. Good guys restrain themselves, they kind of have their moral fiber cut out for them in varying degrees and as a bad guy you can create your own moral fiber. And it’s usually a wide envelope of behavior so I can be as wild, calm, nutty or charming as I want to be; whatever I want to be. I let myself free within a designated area to play a role like that. In this case I did that as well.

Q: What’s your character’s background?

Travolta: My character was probably roughed up in prison quite a bit. He is white collar and committed quite a serious crime and sent to quite a serious prison. He had his day and mostly built up a ton of resentment for the city of New York over feeling betrayed and mistreated and what have you. My guy is calculated to some degree, but a stimulus response type of guy as well. Meaning you could push his buttons, you could just say the wrong name or the wrong word and he is off on a tangent getting pissed off and angry at the world. This is the range I designed for this character.

Washington: I play a guy who works for the MTA, he had moved up the line, but he had got into a bit trouble, so they put him back on the dispatch desk. So he is basically a guy who watches the trains electronically out of the dispatch’s office. A guy who grew up in the trains, worked his way up to flagmen to motormen to track maintenance and on up the line.

Q: What was it like working with other acting legend Denzel Washington?

Travolta: We are the same age; we are of similar presence onscreen. I felt very much like I had a good match with Denzel. We really felt like we upped each other’s ante, but comfortably.  Meaning ok if we have a good match going, we are going to have some fun with these scenes. We are going to discover which way to take them in a creative and new way. And he is a wonderful man to hang out with. He is a talkative guy, and he communicates well. You can exchange ideas with him easily, whether they are creative ideas or ideas about life. I enjoyed my personal time with me and my professional time with him a lot.

Q: What was it like working with John Travolta?

Washington: He is a good bad, he is a nut. Again, we had a great time. We are both a couple of guys who grew up in the tri-state area, he in Jersey and me in Mt. Vernon, N.Y. And to be where we are now, it’s great to meet someone who is humble (I like to think that I am humble), and he is just a regular guy. He said, ‘Do you believe this is actually happening to us.’ I just had a great time working with him.

Q: What makes this movie different from the 1998 and 1974 versions?

Travolta: Tony knows how to make a great, entertaining picture. I think its contemporary its fast pasted. It’s different than anything you’ve seen before with a twist on it. I think it’s important to have movies like that- audiences can really get a break other realities and just get taken by the picture they are watching.

Q: What was it like working with director Tony Scott?

Washington: I loved working with Tony. He is the best. His brother said he is the most technically advanced out there. He knows all the tricks, every shot, so I learn a lot from him as a budding film maker. I like watching how he puts things together and he is a decent man, and he works harder than anybody. So, whenever he calls I come running.

Q: What was it like being back on the subway?

Washington: I grew up in New York. I took the train almost every day as a young adult and adult. I took the 2 train from 241 St.-White Plains Rd. I knew every stop 241 St., 233 St., 225 St. and whatever else there were. I said to myself whenever I got two dollars to rub together, I would never take the train again because I had to take it. I almost got robbed on the train, and did everything on the train. And now for the last four months, not only have I been on the train, I have between stations, which was kind of interesting and fascinating. I actually was between stations as a child, but you didn’t hear me say that. You know when you’re a kid and you get on the train, you ride between cars, you sneak down on the side, but you never went too far. It was interesting after all these years, 30 years or whatever it is, to be on the Subway. I have been in the subway the last four months.