Denzel Washington has been getting universal acclaim for his role as Macrinus in the long-awaited Gladiator II, leading to talk of potential awards nominations.
If Washington is nominated at the Oscars, it would mark his 10th nomination across all categories and, if he wins, it would be his third win after Best Supporting Actor for Glory and Best Actor for Training Day.
But the actor isn't necessarily looking for a nomination for himself when Digital Spy asked him what he thought of the early Oscar buzz for Gladiator 2.
"I'm happy for Ridley [Scott]. I hope he gets nominated. I can't believe he's never won. I can't believe it," Washington responded.
Related: Does Gladiator 2 live up to the first movie?
"I was watching the last 20 minutes of the film up on IMAX last night, and I was making noises like, 'Whoa, I don't remember that part!' I think someone was shushing me, but it's exciting and fun and good, and whatever comes out of it is gravy.
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"Awards, all that, it's just gravy. And I like gravy, to answer your question."
Gladiator 2 marked Washington's second time working with Ridley Scott after American Gangster. But the sequel marked such a big change in terms of scale that they were very different experiences.
"The first time, I wasn't watching, I wasn't there to watch his style, I was there to play a part. It was such a different movie because it was the scale of it, it was so big, as opposed to that. It was different from American Gangster," he reflected.
Related: Gladiator 2 confirms epic runtime
"My wife told me this morning, I forgot this. She said that when Ridley had called me, he said he had me on his bucket list of people he wanted to work with, which he knew what he was doing. He got me right away. You know, 'You're on my bucket list'.
"American Gangster was all about my character. This is Gladiator, so it was all about the boy, and so he didn't have to do as much with me or with us. It was about Gladiator."
Ahead of the sequel's release, Paul Mescal also spoke to Digital Spy about why he chose not to rewatch the first movie before filming the sequel.
Gladiator II is out now in UK cinemas and is released in US cinemas on November 22.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
