Rupert Everett reveals he asked Ridley Scott for role in Gladiator 2 but ‘nothing happened’

Actor said he received an ‘American no’

Rupert Everett has revealed he asked Ridley Scott for a role in the forthcoming Gladiator II film but it never materialised.

The 65-year-old actor has written a new book called The American No, which he describes as the process of being courted by Hollywood, with producers gushing about how they “can’t wait to work with you” but nothing happens.

Everett said in a new interview that after he worked on Ridley Scott’s 2023 film, the actor phoned the director about his highly anticipated sequel to 2000’s Gladiator.

The My Best Friend’s Wedding actor said: “I rang him up and said, ‘Please, Ridley, can I be in Gladiator?” and he said, ‘OK, I’ll see what I can do.’ And then nothing happened.”

However, Everett remained optimistic, tellingThe Times: “He’s doing another film and I’m hoping to get into that.”

Everett, who recently revealed he tries to avoid looking at his reflection as he gets older, is best known for films including St Trinian’s, My Best Friend’s Wedding with Julia Roberts and numerous stage productions. Most recently, he made a cameo in Netflix’s Emily in Paris as the Italian designer Giorgio Barbieri.

While Scott did not choose to cast Everett in the film, Scott has gathered a star-studded cast for the forthcoming follow-up film, which sees Normal People actor Paul Mescal playing the protagonist Lucius, the son of Connie Nielsen’s Lucilla and nephew of Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix.

Mescal is joined by a starry cast that includes The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington and Stranger Things actor Joseph Quinn.

Everett said ‘nothing happened’ (Getty Images for BFI)

Nielsen will be returning alongside another legacy cast member, Derek Jacobi, who is returning to play Gracchus.

Fred Hechinger, best known for The White Lotus, and Quinn play co-emperors Geta and Caracalla, respectively, while Washington plays a former slave seeking revenge.

Other names include Pascal starring as powerful Roman general Marcus Acacius, who trained under Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius. Little Britain star Matt Lucas and Avatar’s Peter Mensah will also feature.

Paul Mescal in ‘Gladiator II’ (Aidan Monaghan)

The most recent trailer for the film comes with a huge reveal about the paternity of Lucius – revealing he is actually the son of Maximus (played by Russell Crowe in the first film), and not Lucius Verus I, as he was made to believe since birth.

The forthcoming film is set years after the death of Maximus, who was killed at the hands of Commodus. In the sequel, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who have taken over Rome. With the future of the empire at stake, Lucius must try and return Rome to its people.

Gladiator II will be released on 15 November.