Actor Alexander Karim is one of the stars of the highly anticipated film “Gladiator II” directed by Ridley Scott. The sequel is toplined by Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and Denzel Washington.
In the original “Gladiator” (2000) actor Djimon Hounsou’s character, Juba, aides and befriends wounded Roman general Maximus (actor Russell Crowe) after he’s kidnapped and forced to fight for his freedom. In the sequel, Karim takes on a similar role as Ravi, a former gladiator who is also a doctor who tends to the injuries of enslaved men who are forced to fight for their freedom. Many of his scenes are opposite Paul Mescal who plays Lucius.
Karim described his role to the Sentinel by saying, “The sequel is about a young boy who feels abandoned by his parents. His dad died and he thinks his mom abandoned him and as he makes his way back to Rome, he’s lost everything. So, what does he need? He needs a family, and he needs a friend. So apart from actually stitching him up, Ravi also has to help stitch up Lucius’ life and his heart.”
Karim added, “I saw Ravi not as some sage or wise man, Lucius is just a young man in need of a friend. And that’s what I loved about Ravi and Lucius’ scenes, is the camaraderie. Amidst all the chaos in Lucius’ life, it’s nice for him to have a buddy to shoot the breeze with.”
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Karim jokingly shared that upon his learning his character was a former gladiator, he went to the gym and got into great shape, only for him to arrive on set and have director Ridley Scott say, “I see Ravi in layers and layers of clothes.”
In addition to learning how to ride a horse for a climactic battle scene in the film, Karim said his training wasn’t in vain, “It helped to be physically strong. I felt strong in the character which gave me confidence and put me at ease. You need to have some sense of strength in order to speak in a way that’s believable.”
While Karim is an award-winning actor for several Swedish films that he’s starred in, “Gladiator II” will help introduce his talent to an even broader audience. It’s also the project where Karim had the coveted opportunity to work with an actor he’s admired for decades, the legendary Denzel Washington.
“When I was 15, I had a picture of Denzel on my wall from ‘Malcolm X,’ and in every household that I’ve lived in since then, there’s been a picture of Denzel on my wall. Right now, there’s a picture of him and Sidney Poitier next to each other on my wall,” said Karim.
“So that’s what I’m walking into when I go to the set of ‘Gladiator II.’ Denzel and I don’t have a lot of interactions [in the film]. I’m in the scene with Paul [Mescal], then Denzel walks in and I leave, but rehearsing that scene, when Denzel first walks on set, you’re just looking at him like, ‘There’s the guy. He’s the reason that I’m an actor.’
“He’s the reason, when I was 15 years old, that I looked at that poster of ‘Malcolm X’ and said, ‘They’re letting us do that now. I can look like this and get to do that.’ And that wasn’t possible before. Sure, you had Sidney Poitier, but Denzel opened that door, you know?”
Karim continues, “When he walks into the room, you’re like, ‘Oh, my Lord’ and you stop breathing for a second. My eyes, for some reason, automatically dropped to his sandals, and I was like, ‘Oh my god, I’m looking at Denzel’s, pinky toe. He’s got a pinky toe!’ It’s like you need to find a way to humanize him. And then, I got to watch him do a scene, which was one of the absolute highlights not just of my acting career, but my life.”
With Karim’s endearing presence and the imminent global success of ‘Gladiator II,’ he’s also helping to inspire the next generation of Black Swedish actors.
See Alexander Karim in the Paramount Pictures film, “Gladiator II,” in theaters on Nov. 22.