Denzel Washington revealed one of the Gladiator II scenes that wound up on the cutting room floor ahead of the release of Ridley Scott’s $310M-budget historical epic.
The 69-year-old acting veteran portrays slave-turned-powerbroker Macrinus, who maintains a stable of gladiators and desires to become Roman emperor.
‘I kissed a man on the lips, but it got cut,’ Denzel told Gayety on October 31.
Now a source close to the production is claiming that the kiss was totally improvised by Denzel and not in the script.
The take with the kiss was also one of several partially improvised takes for the scene in question, the source claimed to TMZ.
Previously, the Training Day actor thought the filmmakers chickened out and that’s why the kiss was cut.
‘I think they got chicken. I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that,’ he said.
Washington noted that his ruthless character then kills the same man ‘about five minutes later’ in a symbolic gesture he called ‘the kiss of death.’
But contrary to the actor’s theory, the Gladiator II source alleged that his man-on-man kiss was not left out of the final film due to any kind of prejudice.
The initial revelation that the kiss was filmed — and then left out — of the movie raised concerns that the producers or studio may have jettisoned illusions to homosexuality in order to appease censors in other countries.
Macrinus marked Washington’s first bisexual part, after he famously played a lawyer who overcame his homophobia after winning a $5M wrongful termination lawsuit for an AIDS-infected client (Tom Hanks) in Jonathan Demme’s 1993 film Philadelphia.
And the two-time Oscar winner wasn’t alone, as director Ridley Scott, 86, also cut a same-sex kiss between gladiator Lucius Verus (Paul Mescal) and Roman general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal).
‘There was a moment when we were rehearsing my fight scene with Pedro, and I had an idea towards the end of the scene to kiss Pedro on the forehead,’ the 28-year-old Englishman told EW last month.
‘I did it in one of the takes, and then we’re getting the radio messages back to Ridley and I was like, “Ridley, kiss on the forehead, did you like it? Yay or nay?” There was radio silence for a second. His radio crackles back and [sarcastically] goes “I’m afraid I did.” I think Ridley’s one of the funniest men I’ve ever come across.’
Gladiator II — which hits UK theaters this Friday and US theaters on November 22 — currently has a ‘certified fresh’ 76% critic approval rating (out of 121 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.
On Wednesday, Washington had an awkward first meeting with King Charles III at the royal film performance of Gladiator II at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London.
The New York-born, LA-based actor appeared nervous before the 76-year-old monarch reached out to shake his hand and he admitted: ‘I didn’t know if I was supposed to grab your hand or not.’
The pair smiled and shook hands before King Charles III complimented Denzel: ‘You’ve been in so many films, it’s fantastic!’
On Monday, Washington announced on the Australian version of TODAY that he officially plans on retiring after completing his next slated four projects.
The Piano Lesson producer will portray Othello opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in director Kenny Leon’s Broadway revival of William Shakespeare’s 1603 play Othello running March 23 to June 8 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in Manhattan.
Denzel will also star in Spike Lee’s remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1963 crime thriller High and Low, Antoine Fuqua’s untitled biopic on the Carthaginian general Hannibal, and Marvel’s untitled third Black Panther film.
On the personal front, Washington has four children – son John, 40; daughter Katia, 36; and twins Olivia and Malcolm, 33 – from his 41-year marriage to Pauletta Pearson Washington.
The Equalizer 3 producer-star and the 74-year-old Reasonable Doubt actress originally met on the 1977 set of NBC movie Wilma, and they renewed their vows in a 1995 ceremony officiated by anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu in South Africa.
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