Denzel’s ‘full-on’ gay scene got cut

Hollywood legend Denzel Washington has revealed that some of the more risque scenes he filmed for Gladitator II didn’t make the final cut.

Denzel Washington has shared that a “full-on gay kiss” he filmed for Gladiator II did not make the final cut of the hugely anticipated movie.

Washington, 69, plays Macrinus, a wealthy power player in Rome who owns a troop of gladiators, in Ridley Scott’s sequel to his 2000 sword-and-sandal epic.

Washington’s character is believed historically to have had romances with numerous men in the past, and it’s mentioned as part of the script.

However, fans won’t get to see that side of the character when the movie hits cinemas.

The Hollywood star revealed the surprise titbit during an interview with Gayety’s Caitlynn McDaniel.

Denzel Washington has revealed he had a gay kiss cut from Gladiator II. Photo: Kate Green/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures.

Mescal made a similar confession recently during an interview. Photo: Kate Green/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures.

When asked how gay was the Roman Empire, Washington revealed: “I actually kissed a man in the film but they … cut it … I think they got chicken.”

“I kissed a guy full on the lips and I guess they weren’t ready for that yet … I killed him about five minutes later.

“It’s Gladiator. It was the kiss of death,” he added.

The confession comes after actor Paul Mescal revealed that he improvised a scene where he kissed his co-star, Pedro Pascal, on the forehead during a fight scene.

The scene was also not included in the theatrical version of the film. However, Mescal has said he has been told it will make it into the director’s cut of the film.

“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,” Mescal told Entertainment Weekly. “I did it in one of the takes, and then we’re getting the radio messages back to Ridley (Scott, the film’s director) and I was like, ‘Ridley: Kiss on the forehead, did you like it? Yay or nay?’ There was radio silence for a second. HIs radio crackles back and goes ‘I’m afraid I did.’”

Sir Ridley Scott, Paul Mescal, Connie Nielsen, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger & Denzel Washington attended the Royal Film Performance and Global Premiere of Gladiator II in London on Wednesday. Photo: Antony Jones/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures.

Gladiator II returns to Ancient Rome, but is set 20 years after the original, focusing on a now grown-up Lucius who is forced into slavery after a Roman invasion sees his home destroyed and his wife killed.

There was also a complexity to Washington’s character, wealthy powerbroker Macrinus, which attracted him to Gladiator II, he told news.com.au: “It’s more of a testament to the way the film was put together … I bring what I try to bring to it, but I never know. One never knows. I never knew what [Scott] was going to use.”

Gladiator II hits cinemas on Thursday, November 14.

Originally published as Denzel’s ‘full-on’ gay scene got cut