Denzel Washington addresses Gladiator II accent criticism

Denzel Washington has recently addressed Gladiator II accent criticism.

Speaking to Empire Magazine, Denzel, who plays the role of Macrinus in the upcoming movie, revealed that the character “hails from North Africa” and the actor decided to use his own accent for the role.

“Well, the thing was, where are we?” he remarked.

The American Gangster actor said, “Whose accent would it be? What does that sound like anyway? You're going to end up imitating someone and end up with a bad African accent.”

In another interview with the outlet, Denzel explained what made him join Ridley Scott’s movie.

“There are very few films left for me to make that I’m interested in,” stated the Fences actor.

Denzel further said, “I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley.”

“We had a great go-round the first go-round, and here we are. He’s engaged. He’s excited about life and his next film. He’s an inspiration. We should all want to feel like that at 86,” added the 69-year-old.

Besides Denzel, other star cast include Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger, with Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi reprising their respective roles of Lucilla and Senator Gracchus from the original movie.

Meanwhile, Gladiator II is slated to release in theatres on November 15 in the UK and November 22 in the US.