Danish star Connie Nielsen remembers throwing her all to play Lucilla in Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" as it was her career's first big movie but when she got a chance to step into the role again after two decades, the actor felt she could slip into the many layers of the character with more comfort.
The 59-year-old actor said when Scott and his team first told her about the idea of the sequel, they promised that "Connie will be happy".
"I knew it was going to be good. I love the whole setup of the story. It's an incredible setup. And for an actor, the way they wrote Lucilla and put her into situations that are unimaginable and crazy, and at the same time, grand, it was a great setup for her," Nielsen told PTI in a virtual interview.
Nielsen has fond memories of her early years in Hollywood where she debuted with the 1997 movie "The Devil's Advocate", starring Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves. She was cast in "Gladiator" just two years later.
"It was my first big movie and I threw everything that I could. And I think this time I have reached a place as an actor and as a human where I feel very comfortable inside of many layers at the same time. I felt like I was able to play at more levels in this film than perhaps in the first one because I'm older and I just know more," she added.
In "Gladiator", Lucilla was introduced as the daughter of Emperor Marcus Aurelius and the sister of Commodus, who becomes the king of Rome after committing patricide. She and Russell Crowe's Maximus, a Roman general-turned-gladiator, are seeking to overthrow Commodus.
And in the second part, set two decades later, it is revealed that Lucilla's son Lucius, played by Paul Mescal, was fathered by Maximus. She sends Lucius away to protect him from palace intrigue but is once again caught between her maternal instincts and her duty towards Rome.
Nielsen said this time around, she could trust herself more with the role.
"There's something really wonderful that happens when you get to a certain age as a woman. You kind of realise that there's a part of you that is whole and amazing and you can trust it. And I kind of felt like that when I was doing the character this time around."
The actor, also known for starring in movies such as "Mission to Mars", "Wonder Woman" and "Nobody", referred to the 2003 book "Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic" by author Tom Holland to understand the empire as well as its administration, the political strife and the specific cultural life of Romans.
"(It) became like my inner sort of, I don't know, ballast. And then I really used the religious experience, the spiritual experience of Lucilla as it would have been back then like her thoughts and how she dealt with almost unimaginable pain and danger to her life, spiritually and mentally," she added.
When asked how Lucilla will resonate with modern audiences, given the shift in the portrayal of women on screen since she first played the role, Nielsen said the character has always appealed to both men and women.
"I've felt this as I've been approached by people around the world over the last 25 years. You just feel that people feel the experience of Lucilla very strongly. I also think they equate the ideas of both films to the political situations that we're dealing with on a global level as well.
"I think we deal with the issue of autocracy versus human freedom. And I think that those are relevant and important questions," she said.
She further said women continue to evolve in cinema, highlighting how female characters were pivotal in films in the 1920s and 1930s.
"It was really a step back in the 60s for women. Ironically, during a time of feminism, women lost part of their economic cachet within films. Films were directed all of a sudden throughout the 70s and 80s specifically towards men. I think we are working very hard on reclaiming that ground," she added.
"Gladiator II" also stars Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger and Derek Jacobi.
The movie will be released in India by Paramount Pictures India on Friday in English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu in 4DX and IMAX.
