I thought those were great scenes, especially at when the Senator says, "I have no son. " You just feel the lonliness of Burton at that moment, the price he has paid for foloowing Christ. It is redone at the as well, when the two men can't even say a word to eaqch other.
The Senator was a great actor. Love the scene talking about Judea as well
"At the end of life, we will be judged by love" ST John of the Cross
Torin Thatcher was a great, and often underrated actor. And here, he is portraying a typical Roman pater familias. His authority over his grown children was absolute for as long as he lived. It is obvious that he cannot bring himself to kill Marcellus, which many Roman fathers did, if and when they felt disobeyed or betrayed. He can only disown his son, and does it so well. Notice how, at the tiral, he says "if my son is to be put on trial...". In his heart, he has repented his disowning of Marcellus. All played so well by Thatcher.
shareAnd you can tell he was rather moved by what was going to happen to his son too because he also said "sire I'm not in the mood.." which would have been a very chancy thing to say to the emperor back then. Especially to Caligula. He wasn't one to cross if you wanted to go on living.