Legionnaires’ for 9 after Disney visits

TAKING ON the starring role in the legal drama “Roman J. Israel, Esq.” was an open-and-shut case for Denzel Washington.

The two-time Oscar winner was immediately intrigued by the project when he first read the script, which centers on an activist criminal defense attorney who probably falls somewhere on the autism spectrum.

The eccentric character of Roman Israel — who is described in the film as a legal savant for his ability to recall case law from memory — is unlike any that Washington has played before. The actor says he drew inspiration from a friend’s son as he approached the role.

“There’s a guy I know, and I won’t say who he is, but his son is on the spectrum, and he actually worked for a law firm,” Washington, 62, told the Daily News. “He knew all of the laws and everything, so I did a lot of research on Asperger’s, and the spectrum, and went in that direction.”

The film revolves around Israel — a man content with his routine of daily peanut butter sandwiches and working behind the scenes on legal cases in Los Angeles — getting thrust back into the courtroom when his law firm’s lead attorney suffers a stroke and ultimately dies.

After leading a career devoted to helping the oppressed, Israel leaves the firm where he made very little cash. He accepts a job at a tony, more prominent firm.

“Fundamentally, it was just something I hadn’t done before, and (was) so different than the character in ‘Fences,’ ” Washington said, referring to the 2016 movie he directed and starred in. “It was the right script with the right writer and director at the right time, and it was a wonderful journey just discovering the character.”

Israel is a throwback of sorts. In addition to sporting colorful three-piece suits and an Afro, the character was modeled by director and writer Dan Gilroy after the activists of the 1960s and ’70s who fought for peace, women’s rights and social equality.

“Roman believes in something bigger than himself,” Gilroy told The News. “The law, in some ways, is his religion. The thing about faith is that it’ll get you up in the morning, and it’ll NINE PEOPLE contracted Legionnaires’ disease after they visited California’s Disneyland in September, officials said.

The disease was detected in three more people who had not visited the Anaheim theme park but who either lived in or had traveled to the city.

The 12 cases of Legionnaires’ were discovered about three weeks ago, in patients whose ages ranged from 52 to 94, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Ten of the twelve were hospitalized and one person “with additional health issues” died, according to health officials. That person had not visited Disneyland.

Authorities said that visitors are no longer at risk of contracting the disease — a severe lung infection caused by exposure to contaminated water or mist.

“There is no known ongoing risk associated with this outbreak,” the Orange County Health Care Agency said in a statement.

Disneyland shut down two bacteria-contaminated cooling towers after the cases were reported.

The towers are near the New Orleans Square Train Station, more than 100 feet away from parts of the theme park accessible to guests, a Disneyland Resort spokeswoman told the Los Angeles Times.

A Disneyland employee is among those who contracted the disease, according to the report.