Denzel Washington absolutely runs off with "Gladiator II" as scheming Roman power broker Macrinus, a former slave whose end game is to become the new emperor. It's one of the two-time Oscar winner's best performances in his nearly 40-year career and one where he gets a chance to go as big as he did in "Training Day.

Renowned filmmaker Ridley Scott recently shed light on Denzel Washington’s character, Macrinus, in Gladiator 2, by methodically comparing him to Donald Trump. Macrinus, who draws inspiration from a real historical personality,

Paul Mescal stars as Lucius in the followup to 2000’s Gladiator. He becomes a gladiator and competes in the Colosseum under the training of Macrinus (Washington). It’s important to note that Pedro Pascal also appears in the film as Marcus Acacius, who is the main antagonist throughout the film.

Director Ridley Scott returns to the site of one of his greatest triumphs with a belated sequel that follows the same beats, giving Denzel Washington a forum to scheme.

Directed by Ridley Scott, Gladiator II debuted domestically this weekend and it's already one of Denzel Washington's highest-grossing movies.

Can an actor earn an Oscar nomination just by the way he says the word “politics?” I think so. Especially when that actor is Denzel Washington in “Gladiator II.” This is a sequel to “Gladiator,” which earned the Best Picture,