Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington Praise Ridley Scott

Ridley Scott may not have been present for the first major screening of “Gladiator II” on Friday night on the Paramount lot in Los Angeles, but the 86-year-old director was the favorite topic of conversation for stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen and Fred Hechinger in the post-screening Q&A. 

Mescal — who plays Lucius Virus, the grown son of Russell Crowe’s character from the first “Gladiator,” released in 2000 — spoke in awe about Scott’s ability to shoot the film’s elaborate opening battle sequence, which involved Pedro Pascal’s Roman general leading a fleet of ships invading a city on the North African coast.

“I think we shot that over nine days,” the actor said. “I don’t know any other director who could do that.”

Mescal was, understandably, nervous before the first shot.

“I was smoking a cigarette, and we were kind of marching around the place, and Ridley comes in with a cigar, just sitting there,” he said. “I was absolutely shitting myself, and he looks at me [and] goes, ‘You nervous?’

Mescal paused, not knowing the appropriate answer. “He’s like, ‘Your nerves are no fucking good to me,’” Scott told, then called to roll cameras.

When moderator Jacqueline Coley asked Washington what it was about the film that convinced him to sign on to make it, he had a simple answer.

“It’s Ridley,” he said. “It’s ‘Gladiator.’ It’s: ‘Yes.’”

Washington, who first worked with Scott on 2007’s “American Gladiator,” also marveled at the filmmaker’s efforts to recreate the splendor and decadence of late-era Rome. 

“He built Rome, so all we had to do was put the clothes on and start talking,” Washington said. “It was play. You know, it’s fun. Just put the gear on and go. That’s the way I looked at it. I’m like, I’m putting this dress on, these rings, and I’m going crazy.”

As the only actor from the first film to reprise their role, Nielsen (who plays Lucius’ mother Lucilla) was uniquely able to compare how Scott’s approach may have changed for the sequel. “This time around, what would have taken three hours to set up 25 years ago now takes 20 minutes,” she said. “That is despite the fact that you’re talking 3,000 extras, enormous vehicles, insane setups. We could not believe how fast we were moving.”

Hechinger also relished the complex undertaking of finding the right look for his character, Emperor Caracalla, whose decadence — along with his brother and co-Emperor Geta (Joseph Quinn) — is underscored by his maniacal devotion to his pet monkey.

“I think of him as rotted gold — it’s glitz and glamor, but there’s true sickness in that,” he said of his character. “It was a gradual process, but some aspects just came ready to go — like the monkey. She was amazing from the outset.”

Interest in the film was so high that organizers filled a second overflow theater on the studio lot and transmitted the Q&A remotely. Along with co-CEO Brian Robbins, other attendees included Shohreh Aghdashloo, Tony Revolori, Debbie Allen, Rebel Wilson, Bill Pullman, Casey Affleck and Patrick Stewart, who chatted up Mescal and Nielsen at the post-event reception on the lawn.

Mescal, in his first lead role in a major studio film, seemed especially overwhelmed by the magnitude of people’s attention. “I think this film wears the legacy of the first film with intense pride and honor,” he said at the end of the Q&A, his voice growing heavy with emotion. “It’s made by the only man who could ever touch it in Ridley Scott. Personally, as his friend and his long admirer, I think is one of his finest pieces of work that I’ve seen in recent times.”

Angelique Jackson contributed to this story.