Denzel Washington’s Robes Are the Real Stars of 'Gladiator II'

This story is from Gladiator Week, GQ’s dive into all things Gladiator in pop culture to celebrate the release of Gladiator II. Read the rest of the stories here.

This article also contains spoilers for Gladiator II.

In Gladiator II, Denzel Washington plays Macrinus, a deliciously evil arms dealer who acquires Paul Mescal’s Lucius for his stable of gladiators. Though the film is set in 200 A.D. Rome, Washington speaks like Denzel Washington, with the New York accent of a man born in 1954 A.D. Mount Vernon. He schemes, he peacocks, he comes dangerously close to saying “my man” at one point. You can tell Washington relishes the performance, and he confirmed as much when, at an early Gladiator II screening, he said: “I’m putting this dress on, these rings, and I’m going crazy.”

He was, indeed, putting this dress on, these rings, and going crazy. In fact, I’d argue that Macrinus’s robes are some of the best parts of Gladiator II. (It’s enough to make you want to live in a caftan 24/7.) As costume designer Janty Yates, who worked with Ridley Scott on the original Gladiator and several other projects since, told me, “I love the fact he calls it a dress.”