From Hollywood To Broadway

Ed Bradley Talks To Actor Denzel Washington

(CBS)  He says he wasn't a bad kid at school, but he became "angrier as time went along."

What was he angry about? Washington asked Bradley to walk with him to the mess hall, where an unforgettable meeting he once had with his mother took place.

"They told me, 'Your mother's here.' And I said, 'My mother's here? ... Oh gee, what did I do?' I did something wrong," recalls Washington.

"She said, 'Your father and I aren't together anymore. You're going to be with me. You know, I don't know what I'm going to do, but we're going to work it out.' So this is where I found out my parents were getting divorced, right here."

"I think I started getting in a little trouble after that. Started getting in fights," adds Washington, who says he remembers that conversation like it was yesterday.

Washington was almost kicked out of school, too, but his mother talked the headmaster into giving her son another chance.

"I owe her everything," says Washington.

Washington made the most of his second chance, building a career that has brought him riches, fame, and critical acclaim. So why would an actor who makes millions for one movie risk his reputation by taking a role that pays $1,700 dollars a week?

"It's like retooling," says Washington about his life on stage. "The lights come up or the curtain goes up and it's an actor's medium and stage. And, you know, it's flying by the seat of your pants. You gotta keep going. It's life. Things happen."

"We're still going through things," adds Washington. "Things fall. Lights don't work. You forget lines or whatever happens. And that's good. That's good exercise."

"Cell phones go off?" asks Bradley.

"Cell phones go off. You know, one of these days, I'm going to respond to it in iambic pentameter," says Washington, laughing. "'Answereth that, my lord. My lord, it is for you.'"

This production of "Julius Caesar" has traded ancient Rome’s togas and tunic’s for suits and ties and camouflage. It is set in modern times, and it's intended to be evocative of power struggles in cities like Washington or Baghdad.

What makes the play relevant today? "It's [the] 'What ifs?' We do have leaders in the world that think they're Gods," says Washington. "And it's not just governments. It's corporations. You know, unfortunately not a lot has changed. I think it's a part of the human condition."

"Julius Caesar" opened on Broadway two weeks ago to mixed reviews. But Washington says reviews don’t affect him because he doesn’t read them. The show is nearly sold out for his scheduled 112 performances that will run until June – and these are performances that give him something he doesn’t get in Hollywood.

"How do you feel at the end of a performance?" asks Bradley.

"Thankful. You know, I run off stage, I wipe the makeup off, I say a quick prayer," says Washington. "I hear the people out there, clapping. You get a sense. Uh-oh. Is it two bows tonight? Is it one? Is it three? You know? And relief. You know. Joy. You don't get that in the movies, making movies. All the feelings I'm getting night after night. I mean, people are, like, 'Man, you got a hundred to go.' But I'm, like, 'Yeah.' I'm enjoying every one of them."