Denzel Washington says Ridley Scott deserves Oscar for ‘Gladiator II’

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Nearly 25 years after the first Gladiator stormed into movie theatres director Ridley Scott has called the sequel to the swords-and-sandals epic that starred Russell Crowe and won the Oscar for best picture his finest work as a filmmaker.

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Over Zoom from London, Denzel Washington hears the pronouncement and breaks into a smile.

“He said this was his best film?” he asks. “The first Gladiator won best picture. So that means he should win best director.”

Now 86, Scott was nominated for the first film, but lost to Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic. In a career that stretches back to the late 1970s and includes such revered films as Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise and The Martian, Scott has never won an Academy Award.

“You tell me,” Washington, 69, says as he contemplates whether Scott is finally due to take home his first golden statuette. Then he answers his own question. “I think so.”

As for whether Gladiator II is Scott’s best piece of filmmaking, Washington, who worked with the director on 2007’s American Gangster and collaborated with his late brother Tony Scott on five films, is quick with an answer. “I think it is.”

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In Gladiator II, which is written by David Scarpa and opens in theatres Nov. 22, Scott returns to ancient Rome for a new story that follows Lucius (Paul Mescal) —  the son of Maximus (Russell Crowe) and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) from the first film. After being captured by Roman general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), Lucius finds himself a pawn in a power play being made by Macrinus (Washington), a ruthless arms dealer and former slave.

Lucius wants revenge against Marcus and Rome’s insane twin emperors, Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger). Meanwhile, Macrinus wants to overthrow them all and take control of the Roman empire himself.

Washington has already earned raves for his deliciously wicked performance, but the two-time Oscar winner doesn’t think of the character as the film’s villain.

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“I don’t play a bad guy. I don’t look at him as bad,” Washington tells Postmedia. “I look at him as wanting to take advantage of any and everyone who took advantage of him. He’s willing to use anything and anyone, anytime to get what he wants. He wants to rule the world … He wants everyone’s head. He wants it all.”

Washington has been a chameleon throughout his onscreen career, but he says his physical transformation as Macrinus was a treat to dive into.

“I’ve never had 10 rings on in my life, sometimes 12,” he chuckles. “That’s who he is. I work from the inside out and those were the last layers of the character … It was fun for me and I guess that’s what you were feeling.”

Scott has been drawn to bigger films as he’s grown older. On last year’s Napoleon, he worked on a huge canvas to bring that cinematic story to life. With his recreation of Rome’s Colosseum on life-size sets he erected during their shoot in Malta, Washington says Scott was right at home as he shot the film’s many battle scenes.

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“He built Rome and peopled it and it made our job as actors much easier,” he said. “The young boys had a good time.”

Washington hopes that the sequel, coming nearly a quarter of a century after the original, appeals to a whole new generation of movie fans.

“The first one is brilliant,” he said. “It’s 25 years between films, so there’s a whole other generation of film goers. I hope they see one and two; I think that’s a good night out,” he said.

Back in August, Washington said “there are very few films left for me to make.” In the months since, he’s teased an appearance in the third Black Panther, along with a new Steve McQueen film and a big screen adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello (which he’ll also star in with Jake Gyllenhaal on Broadway).

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But he says he was happy working alongside this ensemble cast, particularly Mescal, the Irish actor who earned acclaim on the Emmy-nominated series Normal People before breaking out as the Oscar-nominated star of Aftersun in 2022.

“He did a brilliant job as Lucius,” Washington says. “He’s a great young actor. The sky’s the limit for him. I know great young actors when I see them and he is one of them. I look forward to watching him take over.”

Gladiator II opens in theatres Friday, Nov. 22.

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