In crafting his Emperor character in the upcoming legacy sequel “Gladiator II,” Joseph Quinn knew he had big shoes to fill. In the first film , Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as the power-hungry Emperor Commodus earned him an Academy Award nomination and helped propel the actor’s stardom . While Quinn and his co-star Fred Hechinger were careful to keep Phoenix’s performance in mind as they crafted their own, in a recent interview with Empire , he shared how he also found inspiration elsewhere.
“It was something we had a reverence for, but we didn’t want to...
. soil with some kind of poor rendition,” Quinn said of Phoenix’s take on Commodus. Instead, he and Hechinger looked to other villainous performances that were sometimes better than the heroes they’re facing off against.
One that stood out to the two was Philip Seymour Hoffman’s ruthless Davian in “Mission: Impossible III,” who’s dastardly acts include putting an explosive charge in Ethan Hunt’s head. Another tracks a little further back, but felt fitting for Quinn. “Gary Oldman in ‘The Fifth Element!'” he said to Empire.
“He has this relish for being horrible.” In “Gladiator II,” Quinn and Hechinger play real-life brothers, Gata and Caracalla, who ruled as Emperors together, but eventually found themselves at odds. In thinking on a comparison, director Ridley Scott called upon a reference that ties into another recent entry in one of his franchises.
“They are probably the equi.