Russell Crowe, star of ‘Gladiator’, the original, is promoting his new film, ‘The Exorcist of the Pope’ (April 5 in theaters) and has spoken on the Ryan Tubridy show to RTE Radio 1 of his absence in ‘Gladiator 2’ and the direction the film is taking.
The death of his character, Emperor Maximus, gave rise to thinking that Crowe would not be in the sequel, unless it was in the form of a flashforward. In the interview, Crowe, without confirming it, hints that he definitely will not be in ‘Gladiator 2’: “The film is an extension of the story that goes beyond the death of Maximus, so it doesn’t really involve me at all,” says the actor.
Crowe also talks about his replacement in the leading role, where Paul Mescal, nominated for the Oscars for ‘Aftersun’, takes over playing a young emperor named Lucius: “I hear that young Paul is a good guy, I wish him the best of luck,” says Crowe and adds , “I think it is a very intelligent idea, within the world of the films we create, to take the story from the point of view of a young Lucius being an emperor”, Crowe approves the plot of the second part of the saga, which returns to be directed by Ridley Scott.
Beyond wanting and not being able to star in ‘Gladiator’ again, Crowe talks about the nostalgia that remembering those moments brings him, confirming that period films are his true passion.
“I don’t want to think about it too much because it takes me back to a time when I was significantly younger and you know at that moment you see life in rosy colors,” Crowe talks about the spectacular moment he lived in 2000, “I look back and loved recording every minute of that movie, something I wasn’t aware of at the time. I love being part of period films, putting on those costumes and interpreting that type of situation with all that it entails, it attracts me a lot and I feel a certain jealousy that people have that experience that I once had.
The Academy loved Crowe and ‘Gladiator’
A whopping 23 years have passed since ‘Gladiator 2’ hit the big screen, thanks to Dreamworks and Universal, to become one of the most famous and award-winning period films. Such was the success that the Hollywood Academy took her into account for its 73rd edition of the Oscars with twelve nominations, of which five of the statuettes were stolen: Best Picture, Best Special Effects, Best Sound, Best Costume Design, and Best Leading Actor.
With his role as Maximus, Crowe got the prize he had lost in the previous edition., where he was nominated for ‘The Dilemma (The Insider)’, finally Kevin Spacey, who was nominated for ‘American Beauty’, managed to take the statuette. Already with an Oscar under his arm and in his third consecutive year nominated, Crowe returned to attend the gala as a nominee for his role in ‘A Beautiful Mind’, repeating the year after his first and only Oscar was a difficult task, It was Denzel Washington who this time won the award for his role in ‘Training Day’.
‘Gladiator 2’ will be released in theaters on November 22, 2024.
Reference-www.ecartelera.com
