Denzel Washington has opened up about one scene from Gladiator II that wound up on the cutting room floor.
The two-time Oscar winner is currently on the promo trail for Ridley Scott’s much-hyped Gladiator sequel, and shared with Gayety that he shot a same-sex kiss during the filming process.
“I actually kissed a man in the film but they took it out,” he told the US outlet. “They cut it, I think they got chicken.”
Denzel added: “I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet.”
Revealing exactly what went on in the now-deleted scene, Denzel added that his character killed the man in question “about five minutes later”, remarking: “It’s Gladiator. It’s the kiss of death.”
Last month, Denzel’s co-star Paul Mescal spoke about another Gladiator II kiss that didn’t make it into the finished film, which came about when he gave Pedro Pascal a peck during a fight sequence.
“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,” Paul recalled.
But despite the filmmaker’s approval for the improvised moment, it didn’t wind up in the completed movie.
Gladiator II also features appearances from Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn and The White Lotus star Fred Hechinger, while Connie Nielsen and Derek Jacobi reprise their roles from the first film.
On Wednesday night, the entire cast came together with director Ridley Scott for the film’s London premiere, which was also attended by King Charles.
Gladiator II hits cinemas on Friday 15 November.