‘Bad guys have all the fun until the end’

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Denzel Washington

Bad guys have all the fun, says Denzel Washington who turns antagonist for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II and took the conscious decision to not watch the first Russel Crowe starrer because he didn’t want to be connected to it.

The veteran Hollywood star plays Macrinus, a former slave turned wealthy, conniving arms dealer, in the sequel to the blockbuster 2000 original. “I didn’t go back to watch the first film. I didn’t want to be connected to that. I watched the first film years ago. So I didn’t want to look at it,” Washington told PTI.

In Gladiator II, Scott brings back the epic gladiatorial battles made famous in Gladiator, the classic that bagged five Oscars, including for best picture and best actor for Crowe.

Washington, 69, had earlier worked with Scott on the director’s 2007 American Gangster, also co-starring Crowe. “Ridley Scott first, last and always. He called and I said yes. He’s one of my favourite if not my favourite directors that I work with… he and his brother (Tony Scott). But when he called, I said yes. It’s as simple as that,” the actor said.

Asked if he had fun playing a bad guy again after his Oscar-winning role in Training Day (2001), Washington said, “Absolutely. You know bad guys have all the fun, until the end.”
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While Gladiator focused on Maximus (Crowe), the sequel takes place many years later and centres around Mescal’s Lucius, the son of Maximus and Lucilla (Nielsen). Washington’s role as Macrinus sees him playing a gladiator ‘owner’.