Yahoo Movies Exclusive: Gladiator 2's Connie Nielsen finds historical accuracy criticism "so silly"
Gladiator II star Connie Nielsen addressed criticism over the movie's historical accuracy, admitting she finds it "so silly".
The movie, which acts as a sequel to the 2000 hit, sees Nielsen return to the role of Lucilla, the mother of Paul Mescal's Lucius.
The Roman-set epic has come under some fire recently regarding the accuracy of the period depicted on screen, historian Dr Shadi Bartsch recently labelling scenes such as sharks in the Colosseum "total Hollywood bullshit" (via The Hollywood Reporter).
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However, while speaking exclusively to Digital Spy, Nielsen defended the movie as she called the discourse "so dumb".
"I mean, can I just say: do you care whether there really were sharks in that water or not? Like, what are you talking about? That's so silly," she said. "Like, why? Why would you want to take yourself out of a story because of sharks?
"That is a detail that even if it happened, the historians probably wouldn't have been spending any time on it. I mean, we're talking that there were rhinoceroses and there were elephants.
"They used insane… They ate ostrich in chocolate sauce, like, what are you talking about? Who cares? It's so dumb."
Related: Gladiator 2 lands lower Rotten Tomatoes rating than first movie
Fred Hechinger, who plays Emperor Caracalla, also addressed claims of historical inaccuracy, explaining how director Ridley Scott wanted the movie to feel contemporary.
"It's interesting because I'm talking to Ridley and preparing it, and some of his references have nothing to do with the time period," he said. "He and I talked about Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten, his punk icons.
"I think he's very interested in making movies that feel connected to the present moment no matter what. So even if it's a historical epic, he wants that movie to be as relevant and as messy and violent and alive and scary as this moment in time is.
"There's a reason I think we keep coming back to the Roman Empire, it's just a strange, illuminating, mysterious mirror to society today," Hechinger added. "So I think he's very keen on making history feel present."
Gladiator II is released in UK cinemas on November 15 and in US cinemas on November 22.
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