Gladiator II co-starred in the work with Ridley Scott

The action extravaganza is about to begin. Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II hits theaters Friday, and we sat down with Pedro Pascal and Connie Nielsen to talk about the long-awaited sequel and what it was like working with the iconic director. RT correspondent Nikki Novak also chatted with Scott as he shared his costume and prop selection process and broke down the epic monkey fight scene.

Nikki Novak for Rotten Tomatoes: Can you describe what it feels like the day after you wake up from the fight against Paul (Mescal)? What happens to your body?

Pedro Pascal: I still feel it. Look, Ridley Scott is going to set up so many cameras and he’s going to shoot something from start to finish. So the thing is the sequence goes from action to cut and instead of like pieces (where) we put the stunt guy in here and we do this you do whole thing. We’ve learned it all, but on the day with the costumes, with the cameras rolling, with another actor… yes, he (Ridley Scott) famous, thank God, doesn’t do more shoots, but Paul is very strong and he’s an athlete and very younger than me and it was amazing to physically experience his strength. And how it felt the next day is a place I will never be again.