00:00I own you now, but whose head could I give you to satisfy your fury?
00:06Denzel Washington is saying Ridley Scott made it easy to get into his Gladiator 2 role.
00:11The legendary actor joined the Gladiator sequel cast at an early screening of the film over the weekend.
00:16During the Q&A portion, the actor, who plays a wealthy arms dealer and former gladiator who plots to control Rome,
00:22joked to the audience, he's misunderstood, he's a nice fellow,
00:25before adding that his character is, quote, in bed with the devil.
00:29Washington also explained that Scott made their work easy by building life-size sets as they shot in Malta.
00:35When you would walk around, you were in Rome, and it seemed like 10,000 extras and horses.
00:39It was make-believe. It was play. It was fun.
00:41Just put the gear on, put the dress on, and go. That's the way I look at it.
00:45I'm putting this dress on, these rings, and I'm going crazy.
00:48It will clear my path to the throne.
00:51You will be my instrument.
00:53I will never be your instrument.
00:54The film sees Paul Meskel playing Lucius, a nephew of Emperor Commodus from the original film played by Joaquin Phoenix.
01:01Lucius returns to Rome after being forced into slavery to battle not as a ruler, but as a gladiator out for revenge and power,
01:08seeking to return the glory of Rome to its people.
01:11The Normal People star told a story about how on the first day of shooting,
01:14he was sitting in the production tent when Scott came in with a cigar.
01:17I was absolutely shitting myself, and he looks at me, he goes,
01:21you nervous? And I didn't know what the appropriate answer was, so I was like, eh.
01:25He's like, your nerves are no f***ing good to me. March is out, cameras are turning over.
01:29Meskel noted that the sequel, coming 24 years after the original,
01:33wears the legacy of the first film with intense pride and honor,
01:36but I think it takes it in a direction that drives that honor and respect through the roof.
01:40Lucius, take your father's strength.
01:43His name was Maximus, and I see him in you.
01:48For more on this story, head to THR.com.
01:50And for the latest entertainment news and updates, keep watching The Hollywood Reporter News.
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