Denzel Washington has slammed criticism of his home city New York, insisting it isn't as unfriendly as people believe. The 51-year-old star, whose new movie Inside Man is filmed in Manhattan, maintains the hustle and bustle of city life is misleading.

He says, "I love New York. To an outsider, it seems that a lot of New Yorkers are uptight and a little brusque but it is just the New York way. I remember coming from Los Angeles years ago and I was kind of famous and maybe I'd gotten kinda mellow, so I went into a deli and asked the guy behind the counter to add some extra pickles and I said before I paid, 'You sure you got those extra pickles?' And he says, 'What are you talking about? The pickles are in there, get outta here! Stop wasting my time!' And I was like, 'Phew! I'm home!'"