Cast
Paul Mescal as Lucius Verus Aurelius / "Hanno": The grandson of the former emperor Marcus Aurelius and son of Lucilla and Maximus. Following his father's death, Lucius was sent away from Rome as a child by his mother, Lucilla, to protect him from assassins. They have not met in around 15 years. Lucius lives with his wife in Numidia but is taken prisoner by the Roman army after they invade his home and kill his wife. He is sold into slavery to become a gladiator in the Colosseum. He seeks revenge against the Romans and their general, Acacius. Alfie Tempest portrays a young Lucius.
Pedro Pascal as Acacius: A general of the Roman army who trained under Maximus, and Lucilla's husband. Although he lives a luxurious lifestyle in Rome, he spends most of his time away on military campaigns for the emperors. He leads an army to take over Numidia and invades Lucius' home, but is disillusioned by war and does not want to lead more men to die for the emperors. Acacius conspires with Lucilla to overthrow the emperors but is arrested and reduced to fighting as a gladiator in the Colosseum. According to Pascal, he is "a very, very good general, which can mean a very good killer", serving as a symbol to Lucius of everything he hates.
Connie Nielsen as Lucilla: Lucius' mother, Maximus' former lover, and Aurelius' daughter. She sent Lucius away from Rome after Maximus' death to protect him from rivals for the imperial throne. Following Maximus' death, she marries Acacius. She watches Lucius fight in the Colosseum but initially does not recognize him as her son. Due to her popularity among the people of Rome, she is feared and exploited by those in power, such as the emperors. Nielsen reprises her role from the first film.
Denzel Washington as Macrinus (loosely inspired by the historical figure Marcus Opellius Macrinus): A former Aethiope slave who plans to control Rome. He keeps a stable of gladiators and mentors Lucius. He also works as an arms dealer, providing weapons, food, and oil to the Roman armies in Europe. Director Ridley Scott described him as "pretty fucking cruel" to the arena fighters, with Washington adding that he "wants to be Emperor and he's willing to do anything to get there". Scott also noted that Macrinus has a "twinkle" of bisexuality, describing him as a gangster who started as a prisoner of war, became a gladiator, and earned his freedom. Washington said that a scene involving Macrinus kissing another man was deleted from the film, a claim that was later disputed by Scott.
Joseph Quinn as Emperor Geta: The co-emperor of Rome alongside his brother, Caracalla. Scott described the pair as "damaged goods from birth" who are "almost a replay of Romulus and Remus", with another inspiration being Beavis and Butt-Head from the MTV adult cartoon of the same name. Quinn took inspiration from Philip Seymour Hoffman's Owen Davian from Mission: Impossible III (2006) and Gary Oldman's Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg from The Fifth Element (1997) for playing his character, not wanting to copy Joaquin Phoenix's performance as Commodus from the previous film. One inspiration for Geta's look was John Lydon.
Fred Hechinger as Emperor Caracalla: The co-emperor of Rome alongside his brother, Geta. He historically has a pet Capuchin monkey named Dondus, and is less stable than his brother due to cognitive erosion in his brain. Hechinger discussed with Scott about finding inspirations to build Caracalla's look from Sid Vicious, with Caracalla's pet monkey serving as another inspiration for the character's "crazed behavior".
Lior Raz as Viggo: The trainer of gladiators for Macrinus. A former gladiator, Viggo is a "tough guy" who escorts the gladiators to their fights.
Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus: A member of the Roman Senate who opposes the growing corruption of the Imperial Court. Jacobi reprises his role from the first film.
Peter Mensah as Jugurtha: A black Numidian chieftain who mentored Lucius after the latter was exiled from Rome, with whom he is later enslaved and forced to become a gladiator.
Matt Lucas as the Master of Ceremonies: The Colosseum's public address announcer.
Alexander Karim as Ravi: A former gladiator from Varanasi, India who earned his freedom and then chose to serve as a doctor to wounded combatants.
Tim McInnerny as Senator Thraex: A gambling-addicted, corrupt member of the Roman Senate who owes Macrinus a tremendous amount of money.
Richard McCabe as Quaestor.
Rory McCann as Tegula: The leader of the Praetorian Guard.
Yuval Gonen as Arishat: Lucius' wife, a skilled archer who is killed during the Roman invasion of their home.
Alec Utgoff as Darius: Acacius' second-in-command, whom Acacius recruits to mount a coup against the corrupt emperors.
Yann Gael as Bostar.
Alexander Simkin as Glyceo the Destroyer: a gladiator riding a black rhinoceros.
Egyptian-Palestinian actress May Calamawy, who was originally set to play Fortuna, an "important character", appears in the film in an uncredited non-speaking background role as Macrinus' companion. Some publications linked her omission to the ongoing Gaza war and her support for Palestine in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict.
