‘Gladiator II’ is a dream come true for Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger

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Director Ridley Scott’s return to the world of ancient Rome in a long-awaited sequel to his 2000 box office smash Gladiator brings a host of new faces to the franchise.

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Coming 24 years after the Oscar-winning original hit theaters, Gladiator II follows the heroic Lucius (Paul Mescal) – son of Maximus (Russell Crowe) and Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) from the first film. After being captured by the Roman general Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal), Lucius finds himself a pawn in a power game being made by Macrinus (Denzel Washington), a ruthless arms dealer and former slave who wants to overthrow Rome insane twin emperors, Geta and Caracalla (Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger).

As one of the film’s main antagonists, Quinn, the British actor who blew up thanks to his scene-stealing role as Eddie Munson in the fourth season of Stranger Thingssays he tried to channel Joaquin Phoenix’s villainous Commodus from the original.

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“I think the ghost of Joaquin Phoenix could sometimes be seen in the Coliseum,” says Quinn, 30, zooming in from London on an early Sunday morning. “We tried not to look at him too much, but we took our hats off to him, or should I say our laurels… It felt like we had to claim it in a way and make it our own. But his performance was something I used.”

Along with Hechinger, the two vile menaces rule Rome with an insatiable thirst for blood. With blonde hair, gilded robes, jewels, makeup and a pet monkey, the pair steal every scene they’re both in.

Scott says the characters, who were inspired by real-life brothers, “are not normal, in a very interesting way.”

“They’re already kind of insane when we meet them,” says Scott. “Their father succeeded Commodus and they inherited the throne. They ran Rome a bit off track.”

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Hechinger says Caracalla is “unhinged,” while Quinn describes his character as a “sadistic, ruthless emperor who is as unpleasant as his brother.”

But they both agree that playing a villain was fun to sink your teeth into.

“You are given the opportunity to behave in a way that if you behaved like that in the real world, you would be locked up. So it’s quite liberating in a way,” says Quinn.

Smiling alongside her on-screen partner, Hechinger, 24, echoing Quinn’s sentiments.

“Courting the dark is the real privilege of art,” he explains.

Apparently overnight, Quinn has gone from starring on Netflix’s mega-hit franchise to roles in this past summer’s box office hit A quiet place: Day OneNext, Quinn will star in Alex Garlands WarfareBret Easton Ellis’ upcoming directorial debut Relapseand Marvel’s upcoming Fantastic fourwhere he plays the Human Torch.

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Working with Scott is the highlight of a career that keeps getting bigger and better.

“It’s hard to pick your favorite Ridley Scott film. Blade Runner, Alienthe original Gladiatorthese are all great movies for me. Thelma & Louise … I could go on all day,” says Quinn.

Likewise, Hechinger says he was also thrilled to be included in the cast.

“Thelma & Louise is one of those Ridley Scott movies that I have watched over and over again. I am so honored by those performances and that film,” he says. “It’s so beautifully done. That’s true of all of Ridley’s work. He can make these huge spectacles and yet they’re so concerned with the characters and the intimacy of the people in the picture.”

But getting to participate in a follow-up on Gladiator is probably an even bigger highlight for the couple.

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Hechinger recalls how he couldn’t get enough of the seminal sword-and-sandal epic growing up.

“Anytime it was on TV I would watch it to the end no matter what. It was one of the first movies where I could talk back to television just by osmosis because I had seen it so many times,” he says.

Quinn calls the original a “seminal film for me.”

“I watched it when I was between 10 and 13 with my stepfather. I remember it being on TV all the time and there is still so much to get out of it. Even from a 20th viewing, it’s still surprising and can completely transport you in a way that movies rarely do,” he says.

Gladiator II now playing in cinemas.

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