Yahoo Movies Denzel Washington responds to Oscar buzz for Gladiator 2 performance
Denzel Washington has been getting universal acclaim for his role as Macrinus in the long-awaited Gladiator II, leading to talk of potential awards nominations.
If Washington is nominated at the Oscars, it would mark his 10th nomination across all categories and, if he wins, it would be his third win after Best Supporting Actor for Glory and Best Actor for Training Day.
But for the star, he isn't looking for a nomination for himself necessarily when Digital Spy asked him what he thinks of the early Oscar buzz for Gladiator 2.
"I'm happy for Ridley [Scott]. I hope he gets nominated. I can't believe he's never won. I can't believe it," Washington responded.
Related: Does Gladiator 2 live up to the first movie?
"I was watching the last 20 minutes of the film up on IMAX last night, and I was making noises like, 'Whoa, I don't remember that part!'. I think someone was shushing me, but it's exciting and fun and good, and whatever comes out of it is gravy.
"Awards, all that, it's just gravy. And I like gravy, to answer your question."
Gladiator 2 marked Washington's second time working with Ridley Scott after American Gangster. But the sequel marked such a big change in terms of scale that they were very different experiences.
"The first time, I wasn't watching, I wasn't there to watch his style, I was there to play a part. It was such a different movie because it was the scale of it, it was so big, as opposed to that. It was different from American Gangster," he reflected.
Related: Gladiator 2 confirms epic runtime
"My wife told me this morning, I forgot this. She said that when Ridley had called me, he said he had me on his bucket list of people he wanted to work with, which he knew what he was doing. He got me right away. You know, 'You're on my bucket list'.
"American Gangster was all about my character. This is Gladiator, so it was all about the boy, and so he didn't have to do as much with me or with us. It was about Gladiator."
Ahead of the sequel's release, Paul Mescal also spoke to Digital Spy about why he chose not to rewatch the first movie before filming the sequel.
Gladiator II is out now in UK cinemas and is released in US cinemas on November 22.
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