With a host of awards to his name, Denzel Washington has fed into retirement rumors after disclosing that he only does projects now when inspired by a filmmaker because there are "very few films left" that would bring him back onto a movie set.
The "Equalizer" star, with a career of over four decades on the screen, television, and stage, insists that Ridley Scott had a lot to do with his decision to play the character in the director's sequel, "Gladiator II."
In this new movie, Washington plays Macrinus, a power broker who takes under his wing Paul Mescal's character, Lucius—grandson to Rome's former emperor Marcus Aurelius and son of Lucilla—as he embarks on fighting as a gladiator.
"'There are very few films left for me to make that I'm interested in, and I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley,' 69-year-old Washington told *Empire* magazine in an interview."
The sequel to Scott's 2000 blockbuster "Gladiator" with Russell Crowe, "Gladiator II" thus represents a reunion between the legendary helmsman and Washington, who teamed for the first time on the 2007 thriller *American Gangster*.
": We had a great go-round, the first go-round, and here we are. He's engaged. He's excited about life and his next film. He's an inspiration. We should all want to feel like that at 86," Washington added.
He is considered by most to be one of the greatest actors of the 21st century due to his award-winning lead roles in several critically acclaimed movies, such as "Glory," "Training Day," "Remember the Titans," "Malcolm X," "The Equalizer" series, and lately, "Fences."
"Gladiator II" is set two decades after the original film. Slated for a November release, the movie picks up with Lucius as an adult, having been sent by his mother, Lucilla, to live in the north African region of Numidia to keep him out of the reach of the Roman Empire. Circumstances unfold that makes him return to Rome as a gladiator.
Read also| Paul Mescal on Pedro Pascal: 'There's Definitely a Beast Inside Him'
