‘Gladiator 2’ actor Fred Hechinger plays down gay kiss storm: “They would have kept it in the movie”
Denzel Washington recently said he kissed a male co-star in a since-deleted moment
by Damian Jones · NMEGladiator 2 actor Fred Hechinger has played down the same-sex kiss storm surrounding the movie.
Denzel Washington, who portrays Macrinus in the sequel to the 2000 blockbuster, recently told Gayety, he kissed a male co-star in a since-deleted moment.
But director Ridley Scott said that was “bullshit” and “they acted the moment – it didn’t happen”.
Washington has also since rolled back his comments, later saying: “It really is much ado about nothing. They’re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, I gave him a peck and I killed him.”
But Hechinger, who plays Emperor Caracalla alongside his onscreen twin Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, played it down further saying if it did happen, it wasn’t with either of the dual emperors.
“If I had a peck with him, they would have kept it in the movie,” Hechinger told IndieWire.
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Elsewhere a cinematographer on Gladiator 2 recently said Ridley Scott has become “lazy” and “rushes” to get things done.
He went on to claim that the director had “changed” and was now “quite impatient” on set, which he felt had a detrimental effect on the finished production. Scott’s last two films, Gladiator 2 and Napoleon have both received mixed reviews from critics.
The film was awarded three stars from NME: “If you loved Gladiator, it’s odds-on you’ll enjoy this too. It’s got all of the same exciting bits – swordfighting, rousing speeches, nasty poshos getting what they deserve,” Alex Flood wrote.
“The problem is that’s all it gives you. You want to feel like you’re watching Maximus lift off his helmet and deliver that iconic monologue for the first time again. You want the thrill of a core memory being unlocked. You want to know you’ll be quoting Mescal’s lines to your mates in the pub for the next 10 years. Gladiator 2, piously respectful as it is, can only offer a faded memory of that experience. There was a dream that was Rome – and this is kind of it.”
In other news, the release of Gladiator 2 and Wicked hasn’t had the same impact as last year’s Barbenheimer phenomenon at the cinema, but it has breathed new life into the box office with huge takings, it was recently confirmed.