‘Gladiator II’ Camera Operators Had to Dress Up as Roman Soldiers

The camera operators for Gladiator II had to dress as Roman soldiers to align with director Ridley Scott’s immersive filming style.

Gladiator II star Paul Mescal revealed that the camera operators dressed up in costume with the rest of the cast when filming the battle sequences.

Mescal, who plays Lucius in the Gladiator II sequel, made the comments during The Hollywood Reporter’s actor roundtable this week.

In the interview, that was first spotted by ScreenRant, Mescal says that Scott would have multiple cameras filming at the same time.

According to Mescal, Scott would typically use five to six cameras to shoot for the more intimate scenes in the movie, for example, those taking place in the prison cell.

However, Gladiator II’s battle scenes required extensive camera coverage to capture its epic scale. So Scott would film with around a dozen cameras when shooting Gladiator II’s fighting sequences.

To ensure the 12 cameras didn’t disrupt the authenticity of the battle scenes, Mescal says that the camera operators donned Roman soldier costumes while filming.

This allowed the Gladiator II cameramen to blend into the action while maintaining the film’s immersive atmosphere.

“Twelve cameras, easy. Camera operators dressed up in costume like Roman soldiers,” Mescal explains.

“So you save time with the amount of takes that you’re going to do because the coverage is there. But you also gain a sense of freedom because continuity goes out the window.”

Criticism of Ridley Scott’s Multiple Cameras

Mescal’s comments come weeks after the Gladiator II cinematographer criticized Scott’s increasingly “rush, rush, rush” approach to filmmaking and use of multiple cameras.

John Mathieson — who has been a longtime collaborator of Scott and has served as cinematographer on several of his films, including Gladiator and its sequel — claimed the director had become “really lazy.”

The cinematographer pointed out that, unlike his earlier projects, Scott now frequently opts to use multiple cameras during filming. This approach, Mathieson argues, negatively impacts the cinematography since he “can only light from one angle.”

According to Mathieson, Scott’s preference for this method stems from his desire to work more quickly.

“He is quite impatient so he likes to get as much as he can at once. It’s not very good for cinematography,” Mathieson says.

Image credits: Header photo by Aidan Monaghan/ 2024 Paramount Pictures.