The Oscar-winning actor, 69, will return to screens this winter in the blockbuster sequel to Sir Ridley Scott’s 2000 epic, starring alongside Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal.
He’ll appear as Macrinus, a former slave from North Africa who plots to control Rome and is a ruthless mentor to Lucius (Mescal).
However, when the Gladiator 2 trailer was released this summer, fans couldn’t stop talking about Denzel’s accent which is, well, his normal American accent.
Sharing a solid reason why he opted not to adopt an accent from an African region or even an English accent like much of the cast, he said: ‘Well, the thing was, where are we? Whose accent would it be? What does that sound like anyway?’
He added speaking to Empire: ‘You’re going to end up imitating someone and end up with a bad African accent.’
Reacting to Denzel’s accent, or lackthereof, when the trailer was released in July, @alexarecommends wrote on X: ‘Denzel Washington like other great actors before him Katharine Hepburn and Sidney Poitier has decided that whatever accent he has is what accent the character has.’
Admiring Denzel’s choice, @MattZeitlin said: ‘Respect to denzel washington for doing no accent work and acting and sounding like a corrupt cop from yonkers.’
Stepping in to defend the Training Day star, @JaFleuTheArtist weighed in: ‘Imagine criticizing THEE DENZEL WASHINGTON about his accent in a movie set in room where everyone is speaking *checks notes* ENGLISH.’
‘I love how in the trailer everyone has a British accent and Denzel still sounds like a man from round the way,’ @BrujaBanton quipped.
Denzel’s accent hasn’t been the only talking point in the lead-up to Gladiator 2 as fans also can’t believe how youthful he looks in the trailer, sparking rumours he was de-aged in the film.
@Rihanatsona previously wrote on X: ‘I don’t know how I’m supposed to act😫. A 60+ man is the oldest and hottest man in this movie.’
Reddit user CalendarAggressive11 wrote: ‘That man ages like the finest wine.’
Fans should enjoy Denzel on their screens while they can as the actor also said that there are ‘few films’ he’s interested in making these days.
‘I have to be inspired by the filmmaker, and I was tremendously inspired by Ridley. We had a great go-round the first go-round, and here we are. He’s engaged. He’s excited about life and his next film. He’s an inspiration. We should all want to feel like that at 86,’ he added to Empire.