The Wild Real Life History of Denzel Washington's Gladiator II Character, Macrinus

Story by Margeaux Sippell

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Denzel Washington flexes his action chops as a powerful Roman arms dealer in the highly-anticipated

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Macrinus, Washington's character, was the first Roman emperor not from the senatorial class, and he never even visited Rome during his reign.
Paul Mescal, who plays the gladiator Lucius, got so jacked for his role that co-star Pedro Pascal likened fighting him to

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Denzel Washington, Macrinus, Lucius Verus, Maximus, Marcus Acacius, Caracalla, Geta, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Paramount, Gladiator II