Fred Hechinger calls acting with Denzel Washington in *Gladiator II* a dream he "couldn't imagine."

The White Lotus actor Fred Hechinger moves from the resort to the Colosseum in Gladiator II — but even more daunting than starring in his first major blockbuster was acting opposite two-time Oscar winner Denzel Washington.

Starring as Caracalla, one half of the sadistic twin-brother emperors commanding Rome at the time Ridley Scott's sequel is set (the other, Geta, is played by A Quiet Place: Day One star Joseph Quinn), Hechinger, 24, goes big with his portrayal of an unruly, chaotic leader.

He's matched in tone by Washington's scene-stealing performance as Macrinus, a former slave with plans to gain power.

Hechinger tells PEOPLE it was "a great honor" to share scenes with an actor as esteemed as Washington, 69. "It's also an immense joy," he says. "He's such a deep and true actor."
Describing watching Washington's process, Hechinger says he got "really wrapped up in it."

"I feel that the scenes were one thing on the page, and then you walk into it and you start to play and stuff comes up," he recalls. "That's just so of the moment, and that's what it was every day with him. He's just so there."

Hechinger, who also stars in the upcoming drama Nickel Boys and action film Kraven the Hunter, adds that he had many "pinch-me" moments on set with the legendary Training Day actor.

"There are dreams and then there are things that are beyond dreams that you couldn't even dream this up," he says. "And working with him in this way felt like that."