Denzel Washington and co-star Pedro Pascal's awkward red carpet exchange

Denzel Washington and his Gladiator II co-star Pedro Pascal had an awkward red carpet exchange during the royal premiere of Ridley Scott's $310M-budget historical epic at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square in London last Thursday.

'He's not as good an actor as me,' the 69-year-old acting veteran told the 49-year-old Chilean silver fox in a video on Paramount UK's Instagram account.

Denzel went on to poke fun of Pedro's in-demand star status: 'They're going to change the name of the movie from Gladiator II to Pedro I starring Pedro, written by Pedro, directed by Pedro, edited by Pedro.'

Pascal shook his head and said he'll only take direction from Washington, replying: 'I'm glad that a trilogy is in my future. I hope you're up for it!'

At that, the two-time Oscar winner scoffed, 'I'm not going to be in it' before breaking his deadpan character and embracing the three-time Emmy nominee.

'Good man. Great actor. Good... I wouldn't call him a friend,' Denzel cautioned.

'What are we doing next?'

Pedro (born José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal) appeared hurt and exclaimed: 'What do you mean?!'

Washington replied: 'Well, it's not like we have tea, you know?'

'I'm waiting in the wings,' Pascal volunteered. 'I'll have tea with you anytime!'

The New York-born, LA-based actor responded: 'Okay, that's a promise. You come to LA, come up to the house.'

Suddenly, Denzel's wife of 41 years - Pauletta Pearson Washington - interrupted the pair to give The Wild Robot actor a big hug.

'I was just about to say, me and Pauletta are friends,' Pedro smiled.

'Yeah, right. Y'all are friends!' Washington deadpanned to the camera.

'You see how that goes? This is life. This is how it goes. This is Pedro, and he's been making time with my wife. If I were in Gladiator, I'd kill Pedro right now. But I won't do that because he's a nice guy.'

The Piano Lesson producer proudly posed with the 74-year-old Reasonable Doubt actress, with whom he shares four children - son John, 40; daughter Katia, 36; and twins Olivia and Malcolm, 33.

Denzel and Pauletta originally met on the 1977 set of NBC movie Wilma, and they renewed their vows in a 1995 ceremony officiated by anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu in South Africa.

In Gladiator II - hitting UK theaters this Friday and US theaters this Friday - Washington portrays slave-turned-powerbroker Macrinus, who maintains a stable ofgladiators and desires to become the Roman emperor.

Pascal plays Roman general Marcus Acacius in the long-awaited sequel, which currently has a 'certified fresh' 75% critic approval rating (out of 155 reviews) on Rotten Tomatoes.

The SAG Award winner proudly posed on the red carpet with his transgender sister named Lux, who upstaged him in a revealing black Stephane Rolland gown.

There's increased interest in Pedro ever since he starred in two binge-worthy, critically-acclaimed TV shows - Disney's The Mandalorian and HBO's The Last of Us.

Pascal will also reprise his role as violent protector Joel Miller in the second season of Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann's fungus-filled dystopian drama The Last of Us, which premieres early 2025 on Max.

The critically-acclaimed post-apocalyptic series - based on Naughty Dog's best-selling 2013 motion-capture video game - broke records for the cable network.

Last Monday, Washington announced on the Australian version of TODAY that he officially plans on retiring after completing his next slated four projects.

The Equalizer 3 producer-star will portray Othello opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in director Kenny Leon's Broadway revival of William Shakespeare's 1603 play Othello running March 23 to June 8 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in Manhattan.

Denzel will also star in Spike Lee's remake of Akira Kurosawa's 1963 crime thriller High and Low, Antoine Fuqua's untitled biopic on the Carthaginian general Hannibal, and Marvel's untitled third Black Panther film.