Aidan Monaghan/Paramount Pictures, Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Ridley Scott said he took inspiration from President-elect Donald Trump for one of his characters in "Gladiator II."
In the filmmaker's sequel to his 2000 epic, Denzel Washington plays an ambitious arms dealer who forces Lucius (Paul Mescal), the long-lost son of Russell Crowe's character Maximus, to be a gladiator — all while scheming his way into power.
In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scott said that the character, named Macrinus, was "very close to Trump."
Breaking down the role, the director said that his version of Macrinus "was a prisoner of war — probably at a North African state — and actually was taken to Rome probably as a gladiator. Survived. Got free. Got into the business of maybe making wine and bread. He evolved into a very rich merchant selling shit to the Roman armies — food, oil, wine, cloth, weapons, everything."
"He maybe had a million men spread around Europe. So he was a billionaire at the time," Scott continued. "He's also a gangster — very close to Trump. A clever gangster."
"He creates chaos and from chaos he can evolve," he added.
Cuba Scott/Paramount Pictures
"Gladiator II," which also stars Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger, arrived in theaters last week, competing with "Wicked" for the top spot at the box office.
It has so far grossed over $140 million domestically and more than $300 million worldwide, per figures from Box Office Mojo.
Washington has also spoken about how he sees his character in the film, previously telling The Hollywood Reporter that Macrinus tries "to use everybody."
"He'd use his mother, he'd use his own children; he's already used up his soul, so he didn't have any left. He's in bed with the devil," the actor said.
Representatives for Trump did not immediately reply to a request for comment from Business Insider.
