‘Who Cares?’: Gladiator II Star Connie Nielsen Shuts Down ‘So Dumb’ Historical Inaccuracy Debate

Gladiator star Connie Nielsen pulled no punches when it came to the ongoing debates about the historical accuracy of the new sequel.

Connie is one of only a handful of actors reprising their role from the original film in Gladiator II, on which she’s been reunited with director Ridley Scott.

And much like Ridley, the Danish actor, she has no time for debates around how true-to-history the new movie is.

“Can I just say: do you care whether there really were sharks in that water or not?” she told Digital Spy, referring to one divisive scene set in the Colosseum. “Like, what are you talking about? That’s so silly.

“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.”

“Who cares? It’s so dumb,” she lamented.

Ridley Scott previously made headlines when he gave a withering three-word putdown in response to questions about his new film’s historical accuracy, something his previous offering Napoleon was similarly criticised about.

Gladiator II – which is in UK cinemas now – picks up 15 years after the events of the first film, with Paul Mescal taking the lead in a cast that also includes Pedro Pascal, Denzel Washington, Joseph Quinn and The White Lotus star Fred Hechinger.

Connie returns to the franchise as Lucilla, the mother of Paul’s character, while award-winning actor Derek Jacobi is also back as Senator Gracchus.