However, the Gladiator II cast may have done just that. Not only does it star some newly-crowned Hollywood A-listers like Paul Mescal and Joseph Quinn, but it also features some industry vets like Connie Nielsen,

The director explains the backstory behind Washington's scene-stealing character, and how he's not unlike the President-elect.

O ne of the most intriguing characters in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II, the sequel to Gladiator (2000) out Nov. 22, is Macrinus, a Black businessman raising an army of gladiators, played by Denzel Washington.