Fred Hechinger, the actor from Gladiator II, takes a moment to contemplate his fast-paced career. “I struggle to take breaks,” he admits. “The idea sounds good, but by the second day...” He mimics boredom. This isn’t surprising. Hechinger doesn’t slow down. In just six years as a professional actor, he’s appeared in over 20 films and four TV shows. His journey began with Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, gained momentum with The White Lotus, and has seen him share the screen with stars like Tom Hanks, Natalie Portman, Christian Bale, and Amy Adams. This year alone, he has five projects releasing.
“My family can’t quite grasp it,” he says about his packed schedule. “They ask, ‘How have you managed all this?’ I explain, ‘I don’t do it all at once. And I don’t have a clone.’” However, he now has a fictional twin. The most significant project in Hechinger’s career so far is Gladiator II, Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel. He plays Caracalla, one of twin emperors—the other, Geta, is portrayed by Joseph Quinn—who rule Rome with a mix of incompetence and childish arrogance. “Ridley Scott’s influences were broad,” he notes. “From the real Caracalla and Geta (loosely based on historical figures) to Beavis and Butt-Head, and Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten.”
Caracalla is more like the Beavis and Vicious of their respective pairs, being the less stable brother. When not grimacing at bloody gladiator fights, he consults his dress-wearing pet monkey, Sherry, whom he considers a close advisor. “Sherry was more natural than the rest of us,” Hechinger says. Despite his rapid rise, Hechinger appreciates every step. “You learn from every part of it,” he says. “Every aspect of filmmaking influences another.” He’s been acting since school, with his first role in Eighth Grade. Watching Bo Burnham transition from comedian to director taught Hechinger that “fearlessness” in work can yield great results. “It was very influential,” he recalls.
It was during the first season of The White Lotus, Mike White’s sharp critique of unchecked privilege, where Hechinger played a socially awkward teen, that he realized people were noticing his work. “It was the first time people would approach me to talk about something I was in,” he says. Managing any level of fame is still something he’s “figuring out,” especially with projects like Gladiator II and the much-delayed Kraven The Hunter, where he plays the comic-book villain the Chameleon. “His villainous power is essentially being an actor,” Hechinger says of the master of disguise. “It’s the most meta thing I’ve done, probably.”
Hechinger doesn’t complain about his growing status. He sees its benefits. “The more you create that connects with people, the easier it gets to make more,” he says. “I always want to take big risks. I want to keep making things that are both entertaining and challenging.” Given his current pace, we won’t have to wait long for his next project.
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