Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington in awe of ‘Gladiator II’ director

Paul Mescal and Denzel Washington have recently praised Gladiator II director Ridley Scott during movie promotions in Tokyo on November 4.

“There’s no better director for focusing on an audience’s sense of entertainment than Ridley Scott,” said the Normal People actor.

Paul, who plays the gladiator Lucius, explained what separated Gladiator II from Gladiator is that Ridley “had more resources at his disposal and put them to great use”.

Gushing over Ridley, Denzel, who plays Lucius’ mentor as well as an arms dealer with designs on the Imperial throne, stated, “Obviously, we were in the hand of a master movie-maker so there was a complete trust in what he what he is doing.”

Denzel revealed that Ridley “allowed us to be responsible for what we were doing,” in this upcoming, which will release in Japanese theatres on November 15.

The White House Down actor pointed out, “There were so many angles, so many cameras, I had no idea where the view was going to be, but it didn’t matter,” due to Ridley.

“It freed you to have fun,” added Denzel.

Meanwhile, Connie Nielsen, who plays the aristocratic mother of Paul’s gladiator, discussed about Ridley’s craft.

“It was incredible to watch a master like Ridley Scott use subtle, but unmistakable ways of showing the change that has happened to Rome and the Empire in the 20 years since the events of Gladiator,” explained the actress.

She added, “He finally had the technology to actualise his vision, and I could see that he was enjoying every moment of making the visuals come alive for the audience.”