In Gladiator II, Denzel portrays Macrinus, an enslaved man turned enslaver who craves political power and control.
In an interview with the Sunday Times, Denzel was asked about one specific line, “Empires fall, so do emperors,” and he provided a timely response that speaks to the current US political landscape given the 2024 presidential election.
“You know, it’s so easy to stand outside America and say this and that,” Denzel said.
“Turn around, you know? Pick a country. Any one,” he said, referring to the George Herbert phrase that suggests, “People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.”
“But listen,” Denzel continued. “It’s all politics. All promises unkept. And now with the information age the way it is — if anything — left, right, whatever had better learn how to use those tools to manipulate the people.”
“There was a great line in the first movie I did, Carbon Copy: ‘Power to the people? Yeah, they had it once — it was called the Stone Age.'”
“We’re all slaves to information now. We really are. We’re all slaves. So whatever you feel about the leaders, like this guy’s crazy or the other one is sane, you’d better realize you’re being manipulated by both sides. Period,” Denzel added. “Yeah. So go to the movies.”
Denzel has a way with words on and off the screen — so if you have a favorite performance of his that you find yourself always quoting, share it in the comments!
