Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen share personal ties on their characters on 'Gladiator II'
After a two-decade wait, Gladiator II is here. More than its brutal fight scenes, the sequel delves into deep and complex human connection.
Ridley Scott's Gladiator II follows the story of Lucius (Paul Mescal), the son of Lucilla and nephew of the villainous Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix in the original film). Raised in the harsh North African region of Numidia, Lucius is thrust into the brutal world of the Colosseum. Driven by a desire to avenge Rome, his conquered homeland, he embarks on a perilous mission. This will also pave the way for him to reunite with his mom, Lucilla.
Exploring the plot deeper, Connie, who reprises her role from the first film, shared how she relates to her character as a mother herself.
“It’s so brilliant, I just thought that is a fantastic situation for me as a character to be in, it’s also something that really speaks to kind of deep human experience, in my case, motherhood and sacrifice,” she said in an interview.
“Lucilla is leaving that nightmare where she does not know her child is still alive, and she’s just like any mother would, just yearns for that one thing that she loves more than anything else in the whole world. But out of duty, she had to choose to let go of him so that she could stay behind and try to fight and save Rome,” Connie further explained.
Joining her in the intense journey in the sequel is her ally and love interest, Acacius, played by Pedro Pascal. Talking behind the scenes, Connie admitted how she’s “completely bowled over by how cool, how gorgeous, funny, and kind” Pedro is as an actor. “Just superb. I think he is an incredible Acacius," she said.
For his part, Pedro shared why Connie is “iconic for the role of Lucilla,” his favorite character in the film.
“I find her to be more complex, and I’ve been having conversations with her from the perspective of Acacius but also just from my personal opinion, I think that she’s the smartest person in the room [who] has found all of these complex ways to navigate her existence in a world of men to survive,” he said. “I just love that, and I feel like there isn’t anybody like her who can fill those shoes.”
Unlike Connie, this is Pedro’s first time to be cast in the sequel, which became his “full-circle moment.”
In the interview, he recalled how he watched the first Gladiator movie multiple times and how he grew up watching films helmed by Ridley Scott.
“He might be the only director that I can say has multiple films in my top 10,” he said. “I’d be anything under his lens.”
“I’m so grateful to have gotten to experience this, because up to now for most of Ridley’s career, I have experienced as a spectator and have always just like eyes wide open, dazzled by so much of it, and to get to be practically part of the experience of making one of his movies is really something I didn’t expect to happen,” Pedro mused.
What to expect
More than the actors and the plot, Connie and Pedro boasted how Ridley incorporates his way of storytelling, which Pedro described as a perfect mix of “specificity” and “spontaneity.”
“I think that he is this incredible contradiction of having such specificity in terms of what the visual setup is, and yet he delights utterly at the spontaneity that an actor will come up with something that he would never have thought of himself,” Pedro said.
“It has to be such a controlled environment to be as big as it is yet somehow he finds a way to keep it completely organic and spontaneous,” he added.
Connie added she admires Ridley’s capability to use both classical storytelling devices and the ever-evolving technology in filmmaking.
“He has just, if anything, amped up the spectacle even more. He just has an extraordinary team as always with him,” she said.
Returning to her role 24 years later, Connie said she’s grateful to “continue to tell these big stories that can both touch people’s hearts.”
“Make them experience being seen, and then at the same time to entertain, and for a moment give something else to think about,” she said.
For his part, Pedro said it's a classic Hollywood cinema but packed with “emotionally rich characters, performances, and storytelling.”
“And there’s very very grand in scope, elegant, sophisticated, bloody, sexy, it’s all the things that really sort of like fill in the word ‘epic.’”
Joining Connie and Pedro in the cast are Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn, Lior Raz, and Fred Hechinger, among others. It is set to premiere in Philippine cinemas on Dec. 4.
