Gladiator star Connie Nielsen doesn’t appear to have aged a day as the actress turned heads at the SFFILM Awards Night in San Francisco, California, on Monday.

The star, 59, played Lucilla in the original Gladiators back in 2000 and has rejoined the cast alongside Paul Mescal and Yuval Gonen for the latest installment.

Wowing on the red carpet, the beauty ensured all eyes were on her as she sizzled in a black floor length gown.

The stunning ensemble featured a cross neck cut-out on the chest and a leather skirt which showed off her incredible curves.

She added inches to her frame in a pair of black heels and toted her belongings in a small stylish black bag.

Connie accessorised with gold hoop earrings and opted for a radiant palette of make up. 

Gladiator star Connie Nielsen doesn’t appear to have aged a day as the actress turns heads at the SFFILM Awards Night in San Francisco, California , on Monday, (left) and (right) in the 2000 movie

The star, 59, played Lucilla in the original Gladiators back in 2000 and has rejoined the cast alongside Paul Mescal and Yuval Gonen for the latest instalment

The actress shared this glam behind the scenes image on Instagram from the night 

She appeared in great sprits as she posed for snaps on the red carpet before entering the star-studded event. 

Gladiator II takes place several decades after the first instalment, and features Lucius (the son of Lucilla) who is now living in Numidia, a region of northern Africa.

Although he was sent to Numidia as a child, the film follows Lucius’ return to Rome to reunite with his mother—and coming into conflict as he does so.

Connie is one of only two actors to return from the original movie alongside Derek Jacobi who plays Gracchus.

And Lucilla has a prominent role in the film, with the actress revealing that director Ridley Scott was a major reason for her return.

Speaking about her return the star described filming as an ‘amazing process’ as she gushed: ‘just walking into the arena on that first day back was an absolute surreal experience.’

She added: ‘I was just so excited to tell the story of this woman who Ridley has set up to hold within herself a crumbling empire and a crumbling legacy of her father, the loss of a son, and in the whole of it, this heart that’s being loved by an amazing man called Pedro Pascal.

‘And then this moment where she finds her son again. I mean, these are incredible experiences and situations that Ridley set up for me. 

Wowing on the red carpet, the beauty ensured all eyes were on her as she sizzled in a black floor length gown

The stunning ensemble featured a cross neck cut-out on the chest and a leather skirt which showed off her incredible curves

She added inches to her frame in a pair of black heels and toted her belongings in a small stylish black bag

‘How could I be anything but excited?’

Speaking about her role as Lucilla, Neilsen told Entertainment Weekly earlier this year: ‘She’s both feared by those who are in power, as well as exploited by them as much as they can.

‘And so Lucilla was very unusual at the time in the Roman Empire.

‘Her life was just constantly up for grabs and endangered all the time.’

The film, which was 20 years in the making has been a hit with critics and fans have praised Paul’s performance.

Early reviews from critics have called Gladiator II the ‘best movie of the year’ and a ‘true epic’ as they hailed Paul and Denzel Washington’s performances.

Connie first played Lucilla in 2000 opposite Russell Crowe

She is one of only two actors to return from the original movie alongside Derek Jacobi who plays Gracchus (pictured in Gladiators II)

Speaking about her return the star described filming as an ‘amazing process’ as she gushed: ‘just walking into the arena on that first day back was an absolute surreal experience’

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Connie Nielsen hasn’t aged a day as the actress, 59, returns to Gladiator II 24 years after original

With Russell Crowe’s legendary Maximus long-since dead and buried, it is vengeful Lucius (Paul) who must fight for his liberty in the film after being taken into slavery and ripped away from his wife and daughter by general Marcus (Pedro Pascal).

Away from the Gladiator franchise, Connie has also starred in Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Wonder Woman 1984 and TV series including The Good Wife.

She is also fluent in multiple languages including her native Danish, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian and Spanish.

As for her personal life, the Danish star is a mother to two sons including one she shares with Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich. 

The pair dated from 2004 until 2012.