“Gladiator II” stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen praise director Ridley Scott: “He built Rome”

Ridley Scott may not have been present at the first major screening of “Gladiator II” at the Paramount lot in Los Angeles on Friday night, but the 86-year-old director was the favorite topic of conversation for stars Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Connie Nielsen and Fred Hechinger in the question and answer session after the screening.

Mescal – who plays Lucius Verus, the adult son of Russell Crowe's character in the first “Gladiator,” released in 2000 – spoke in awe of Scott's ability to shoot the film's elaborate opening battle sequence, in which Pedro Pascal's Roman general leads a fleet leads ships in raiding a town on the North African coast.

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“I think we shot it over nine days,” the actor said. “I don’t know of any other director who could do that.”

Mescal was understandably nervous before the first shot.

“I was smoking a cigarette and we were walking through town and Ridley came in with a cigar and just sat there,” he said. “I'm totally shitting myself and he looks at me (and) says, 'Are you nervous?'”

Mescal paused, not knowing the right answer. “He's like, 'Your nerves aren't doing me any fucking good,'” Scott told him, then called out to the cameras.

When host Jacqueline Coley asked Washington what it was about the film that convinced him to commit to producing it, he had a simple answer.

“It’s Ridley,” he said. “It's 'Gladiator.' It says: 'Yes'.”

Washington, who first worked with Scott on 2007's “American Gangster,” also marveled at the filmmaker's efforts to recreate the splendor and decadence of later Rome.

“He built Rome, so all we had to do was get dressed and start talking,” Washington said. “It was a game. You know, it's fun. Simply put on your equipment and go. That's how I saw it. I think I'll put on this dress, these rings and I'll go crazy.”

As the only actor from the first film to reprise his role, Nielsen (who plays Lucius' mother Lucilla) was able to uniquely compare how Scott's approach may have changed for the sequel. “This time, what would have taken three hours to set up 25 years ago now takes 20 minutes,” she said. “And that’s despite the fact that you’re talking about 3,000 extras, huge vehicles and crazy setups. We couldn’t believe how fast we were progressing.”

Hechinger also enjoyed the complex undertaking of finding the right look for his character, Emperor Caracalla, whose hedonism – along with his brother and fellow emperor Geta (Joseph Quinn) – is underscored by his maniacal devotion to his pet monkey.

“I imagine him as rotten gold – he has all the glitz and glamour, but there's real sickness in there,” he said of his character. “It was a gradual process, but some aspects were just ready to go – like the monkey. She was great from the start.”

Interest in the film was so great that organizers filled a second overflow room on the studio lot and broadcast the question-and-answer session remotely. In addition to co-CEO Brian Robbins, other attendees included Shohreh Aghdashloo, Tony Revolori, Debbie Allen, Rebel Wilson, Bill Pullman, Casey Affleck and Patrick Stewart, who chatted with Mescal and Nielsen at the post-event reception on the lawn.

Mescal, in his first leading role in a major studio film, seemed particularly overwhelmed by the enormous amount of attention from people. “I think this film carries the legacy of the first film with great pride and honor,” he said at the end of the question-and-answer session, his voice filling with emotion. “It was made by the only man who could ever touch it: Ridley Scott. Personally, as his friend and long-time admirer, I consider it one of his most beautiful works I have seen in recent times.”

Angelique Jackson contributed to this story.

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