Connie Nielsen hasn’t aged a day, as the actress wowed at Wednesday night’s Gladiator II premiere as she returned to the franchise 24 years after starring in the original.
The star, 59, played Lucilla in the original Gladiators in 2000 and rejoined the cast alongside Paul Mescal and Yuval Gonen for the latest installment.
Stunning on the red carpet, Connie looked sensational in a baby blue pleated chiffon dress, with a semi-sheer skirt and a thigh-high leg slit.
The Danish actress paired the halter-neck dress with a pair of matching satin heels and styled her hair in loose waves.
Gladiator II takes place several decades after the first installment and introduces Lucius (Lucilla’s son), who now lives in Numidia, a region of North Africa.
Connie Nielsen hasn’t aged a day as the 59-year-old actress returns to Gladiator II 24 years after starring in the original.
The star, 59, played Lucilla in the original Gladiators in 2000 (pictured, right) and rejoined the cast alongside Paul Mescal and Yuval Gonen for the latest installment (pictured, left).
Although he was sent to Numidia as a child, the film follows Lucius’ return to Rome to reunite with his mother, and comes into conflict while doing so.
Connie is one of only two actors returning from the original film alongside Derek Jacobi, who plays Gracchus.
And Lucilla has a prominent role in the film, with the actress revealing that director Ridley Scott was one of the main reasons for her return.
Talking about his return The star described filming as an “amazing process” and gushed, “just walking into the arena that first day back was an absolutely surreal experience.”
She added: “I was so excited to tell the story of this woman who Ridley has created to hold within her a crumbling empire and her father’s crumbling legacy, the loss of a son and, overall, this heart that is being loved by an incredible man named Pedro Pascal.
And then this moment where he finds his son again. I mean, these are incredible experiences and situations that Ridley prepared for me. How could I be more than excited?
The film, which took 20 years to make, has been a hit with critics and fans have praised Paul’s performance.
Paul joined Connie at Wednesday’s premiere as the Irish actor, 28, opted for a smart black suit with a cream satin shirt.
Connie showed off her radiant complexion on the carpet, as one of only two returning stars in the film.
Connie starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix in the original film which was also directed by Ridley Scott.
Speaking about her return, the star described filming as an “incredible process” and gushed, “just walking into the arena that first day back was an absolutely surreal experience.”
Connie looked sensational in a baby blue pleated chiffon dress, with a semi-sheer skirt and a thigh-high leg slit.
She styled her hair in loose waves.
Paul Mescal looked effortlessly stylish while walking the red carpet at the UK premiere of Gladiator II on Wednesday.
Yuval Gonen and Pedro Pascal have also joined the cast
Paul plays former heir to the Roman Empire Lucius Verus in the highly anticipated blockbuster.
Meanwhile, Yuval, who plays Arishat, stunned in an elegant white dress that featured a corseted bodice.
Pedro, 49, looked as fashion-forward as ever in an oversized black shirt and a pair of smart pants.
Early reviews from critics have called Gladiator II the “best film of the year” and a “true epic”, while praising the performances of Paul and Denzel Washington.
With Russell Crowe’s legendary Maximus long dead and buried, it is the vengeful Lucius (Paul) who must fight for his freedom in the film after being taken into slavery and torn from his wife and daughter by General Marcus ( Peter Pascal).
Paul has revealed the crazy bet he had with Ridley Scott over a Gladiator II stunt that caused a huge argument between the pair.
Director Ridley Scott joined Paul on the red carpet
In a new interview with vanity fair Paul said there was a scene towards the end of the film where a tired Lucius rides a horse chasing Macrinus.
Paul was willing to do his best for the action-packed moment and the other stunts, so he “trained for damn months,” before Ridley changed his mind about the scene.
Paul told the publication: “Two weeks before the scene, Ridley says, ‘You’re not doing it,’ and I said, ‘What the fuck?’, and we had this argument.” ‘
Ridley had decided to cut the scene due to equine advice he had received on another film.