“Gladiator II” breakout star Fred Hechinger is weighing in co-star Denzel Washington‘s cut gay kiss scene in the film. Hechinger, who plays Emperor Caracalla alongside his onscreen twin Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, told IndieWire that the cut kiss between Denzel Washington’s character Macrinus and another man was not with either of the dual emperors.
“If I had a peck with him, they would have kept it in the movie,” Hechinger told IndieWire during a recent interview.
During the “Gladiator II” Los Angeles premiere, Washington clarified that the so-called controversy about the kiss is irrelevant. “It really is much ado about nothing,” Washington said. “They’re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, I gave him a peck, and I killed him.” Washington previously explained that the production was too “chicken” to include the overtly queer scene.
“Nickel Boys” actor Hechinger credited his “Gladiator II” co-star Washington for always keeping each take dynamic and fresh on set. “Every single day, Denzel will surprise you. That’s part of why he’s one of our greatest actors,” Hechinger said.
And when working with animals, like Hechinger’s onscreen pet-slash-sidekick Donda, Washington’s ability to improvise proved invaluable. “There’s a scene two-thirds of the way into the movie. It’s me, Denzel, and my character’s monkey, and the monkey is, as monkeys do, moving around as she wants,” Hechinger said. “She jumps from my shoulder to his and that was not something that was planned. That was completely impulsive on [monkey star] Cherry’s part. And to me, it’s like she took the entire subtext of the scene and brought it out. It’s very brilliant.”
He continued, “Denzel is the kind of great actor who immediately makes something of that. He immediately takes all that in and uses it for the next part of the scene. And when I was watching that, I was like, ‘It’s just Cherry’s text work.’”
Hechinger, who replaced Barry Keoghan after the actor was originally cast in the role before exiting to film Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn” in summer 2022, also confirmed that he was not bitten at all during production, despite conflicting past reports.
“I arrived early in the pre-production process in part so I could train with my monkey,” Hechinger said. “There’s four monkeys and they’re all siblings. Cherry is the oldest sister. They’re in Spain. That’s where they’re raised and they live with Mikel, who’s this beautiful trainer that works with them. He helped me learn how to work with them.”
The two younger brother monkeys were originally supposed to share the role of Donda. Yet Cherry, the oldest sister, was the one that was “the most comfortable and wanted to do it,” according to Hechinger. “I mean, as much as I guess a monkey can want to do a production. But she was like the most relaxed and she really does have like big sister energy.”
Hechinger also began pre-production early in part to transform into the pale, sickly Emperor Caracalla. But there were no Geoffrey from “Game of Thrones” references for the look: “I’ve never seen ‘Game of Thrones,’ I have a confession,” Hechinger admitted.
Instead, he found some tonal inspiration in Robert Pattinson’s performance as a French ruler in “The King.” “I thought Robert Pattinson was so brilliant in ‘The King.’ I think he’s quite comical in it,” Hechinger said. “I wouldn’t say I ever like rewatched it or something, but at one point early on, I was moved and inspired by what he had put down there.”
Hechinger’s collaboration with “Gladiator II” auteur Ridley Scott is also a long time coming. “I had auditioned for Ridley earlier in my career, and I didn’t know that it reached him. I thought everyone was just being like polite and kind,” Hechinger said, while staying mum on what the project was.
While the feature didn’t get made, he added, “I don’t want to blow up his life if [Scott] still wants to make it.” Hechinger said, “I guess he had seen [the audition] and was thinking of me, in a way [after Keoghan exited]. So that meant a lot.”
“Gladiator II” is now in theaters. “Nickel Boys” will hit theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on Friday, December 13 with a wide release to follow on Wednesday, December 25.
