‘Gladiator II’ breakout star Fred Hechinger weighs in on co-star Denzel Washington’s gay kiss scene in the film. Hechinger, who plays Emperor Caracalla alongside his on-screen twin brother Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta, told IndieWire that the cut kiss between Denzel Washington’s character Macrinus and another man was not with either of the dual emperors.

“If I had a kiss with him, they would have kept it in the movie,” Hechinger recently told IndieWire.

During the premiere of ‘Gladiator II’ in Los Angeles, Washington made it clear that the so-called kiss controversy is irrelevant. “It’s really much ado about nothing,” Washington said. ‘They’re making more of it than it was. I kissed him on his hands, gave him a kiss and killed him.’ Washington previously explained that the production was too “chick” to include the overtly strange scene.

“Nickel Boys” actor Hechinger complimented his “Gladiator II” co-star Washington for always keeping every take dynamic and fresh on set. “Denzel will surprise you every day. That’s part of why he’s one of our greatest actors,” Hechinger said.

And when working with animals, like Hechinger’s on-screen pet-slash-sidekick Donda, Washington’s ability to improvise proved invaluable. “There’s a scene two-thirds of the way through the movie. It’s me, Denzel, and my character’s monkey, and the monkey, like monkeys, moves around as she wants,” Hechinger said. “She jumps from my shoulder to his and that was not the intention. That was completely impulsive of (monkey star) Cherry. And to me it’s like she took the whole subtext of the scene and brought it out. It’s very brilliant.”

He continued: “Denzel is the kind of great actor who makes something happen right away. He immediately absorbs that and uses it for the next part of the scene. And when I looked at it, I thought, ‘It’s just Cherry’s lyric work.’

Hechinger, who replaced Barry Keoghan after the actor was originally cast in the role before leaving to film Emerald Fennell’s “Saltburn” in the summer of 2022, also confirmed that he was not bitten at all during production, despite conflicting reports from the past .

“I arrived early in the pre-production process partly so I could train with my monkey,” Hechinger said. ‘There are four monkeys and they are all brothers and sisters. Cherry is the eldest sister. They are in Spain. They grew up there and live with Mikel, a wonderful trainer who works with them. He helped me learn to work with them.”

Originally, the two younger brother monkeys were going to share the role of Donda. Still, Cherry, the oldest sister, was the one who “was most comfortable and wanted to do it,” Hechinger said. “I mean, no matter how much a monkey wants to do a production. But she was the most relaxed and she really has the energy of a big sister.

Hechinger also started pre-production early, in part to transform into the pale, sickly Emperor Caracalla. But there were no references to Geoffrey from ‘Game of Thrones’ for the look: “I’ve never seen ‘Game of Thrones,’ I have a confession to make,” Hechinger admitted.

Instead, he found some tonal inspiration in Robert Pattinson’s performance as the French ruler in “The King.” “I thought Robert Pattinson was so brilliant in ‘The King’. I think he’s quite comedic about it,” Hechinger said. “I wouldn’t say I ever enjoyed rewatching it or anything, but at some point I was moved and inspired by what he put there.”

Hechinger’s collaboration with ‘Gladiator II’ author Ridley Scott has also been a long time coming. “I had auditioned for Ridley earlier in my career, and I didn’t know it reached him. I thought everyone was just polite and nice,” Hechinger said, remaining silent on what the project was.

Although the feature was not made, he added, “I don’t want to blow up his life if (Scott) still wants to make it.” Hechinger said, “I think he saw (the audition) and thought of me in a way (after Keoghan left). So that meant a lot.”

‘Gladiator II’ is in theaters now. “Nickel Boys” will hit theaters in Los Angeles and New York City on Friday, December 13, with a wide release on Wednesday, December 25.