Gladiator 2 star Denzel Washington has addressed criticism about his accent, or lack thereof, in the movie’s first trailer.
After nearly a quarter of a century, director Ridley Scott has returned to the world of Gladiator with a sequel. The film’s first trailer hit the web in July 2024, showcasing a star-studded cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Paul Mescal, and Denzel Washington.
Many viewers didn’t take too kindly to the trailer’s choice of music centering on Jay-Z and Kanye West’s ‘No Church in the Wild.’
Denzel sounding like Denzel also ruffled some feathers, even though Ridley Scott has never concerned himself with accent accuracy in his historical pieces.
In an interview with Empire magazine (via ScreenRant), the actor acknowledged the critiques but questioned which accent he should have adopted for the role.
Washington told the publication, “Well, the thing was, where are we? Whose accent would it be? What does that sound like anyway? You’re going to end up imitating someone and end up with a bad African accent.”
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In the Gladiator sequel, Washington plays the role of Macrinus, a historical Roman Emperor born in a Roman province located in modern-day Algeria.
This begs the question of whether Washington should’ve used a North African or Roman accent. However, there’s no way of knowing how either would have sounded during antiquity, thus the seasoned actor has a point.
Plus, as noted above, Ridley Scott films have never prioritized an actor’s accent in this way. Most of the original Gladiator’s characters speak with an English accent.
The accents were all over the place in Scott’s 2023 Napoleon film since some characters spoke with a British accent instead of French. Meanwhile, star Joaquin Phoenix sounded like himself, making no attempt to adopt either form of speech.
Audiences can decide for themselves whether or not this approach detracts from their enjoyment of Gladiator 2 when it hits theaters on November 22, 2024.