Fred Hechinger was not part of the Denzel Washington Kiss

“Gladiator II” breakout star Fred Hechinger weighs in on co-star Denzel Washington’s cut gay kiss scene in the film. Hechinger, who plays Emperor Caracalla alongside his on-screen twin Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, told IndieWire that the clipped kiss between Denzel Washington’s character Macrinus and another man was not with either of the double emperors.

“If I had a dick with him, they would have kept it in the movie,” Hechinger told IndieWire during a recent interview.

During the “Gladiator II” premiere in Los Angeles, Washington clarified that the so-called controversy about the kiss is irrelevant. “It really is much ado about nothing,” Washington said. “They’re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, I gave him a peck, and I killed him.” Washington previously explained that the production was too “chicken” to include the overtly queer scene.

“Nickel Boys” actor Hechinger credited his “Gladiator II” co-star Washington for always keeping every take dynamic and fresh on set. “Every single day, Denzel will surprise you. That’s part of the reason he’s one of our greatest actors,” Hechinger said.

And when working with animals like Hechinger’s on-screen pet-slash-sidekick Donda, Washington’s ability to improvise proved invaluable. “There’s a scene two-thirds of the way into the movie. It’s me, Denzel, and my character’s monkey, and the monkey moves like monkeys do, around as she wants,” Hechinger said. “She jumps from my shoulder to his, and it wasn’t something that was planned. It was completely impulsive on (Monkey’s) part. And to me, it’s like she took the whole subtext of the scene and brought it out.”

He continued, “Denzel is the kind of great actor who immediately makes something out of it. He immediately takes all that in and uses it for the next part of the scene. And when I saw that, I thought, ‘That’s just Cherry’s script work. “

Hechinger, who replaced Barry Keoghan after the actor was originally cast in the role before leaving to film Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn” in the summer of 2022, also confirmed that he was not bitten at all during production, despite conflicting earlier reports .

“I arrived early in the pre-production process in part so I could train with my monkey,” Hechinger said. “There are four monkeys and they’re all siblings. Cherry is the oldest sister. They’re in Spain. That’s where they grew up and they live with Mikel, who’s this beautiful trainer who works with them. He helped me learn to work with them.”

The two younger brother monkeys were originally to share the role of Donda. Still, Cherry, the oldest sister, was the one “who was the most comfortable and wanted to do it,” according to Hechinger. “I mean, as much as I guess a monkey might want to do a production. But she was like the most relaxed, and she really has like a big sister energy.”

Hechinger also began pre-production early, in part to transform himself into the pale, sickly Emperor Caracalla. But there were no Geoffrey of “Game of Thrones” references to the look: “I’ve never seen ‘Game of Thrones,’ I have a confession,” Hechinger admitted.

Instead, he found some tonal inspiration in Robert Pattinson’s performance as the French ruler in “The King.” “I thought Robert Pattinson was so brilliant in ‘The King.’ I think he’s quite comical in it,” Hechinger said. “I wouldn’t say I’d ever like to revisit it or anything, but at some point early on I was moved and inspired by what he had put down there.”

Hechinger’s collaboration with “Gladiator II” auteur Ridley Scott is also long in the making. “I had auditioned for Ridley earlier in my career and I didn’t know it got to him. I thought everyone was just being polite and friendly,” Hechinger said while remaining mum on what the project was.

Although the feature wasn’t made, he added, “I don’t want to blow up his life if (Scott) still wants to make it.” Hechinger said: “I guess he had seen (the audition) and thought of me in a way (after Keoghan left). So that meant a lot.”

“Gladiator II” is now in theaters. “Nickel Boys” hits theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on Friday, Dec. 13, with a wide release to follow on Wednesday, Dec. 25.