Denzel Washington Has Awkward Encounter With King Charles, Video Shows

Denzel Washington typically portrays a cool and confident character in his films ... yet he was anything but that when he met King Charles at the London premiere of "Gladiator II."

The Oscar-winning actor stepped onto the red carpet at the Wednesday night opening of the action-adventure movie with his costars, Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen and director Sir Ridley Scott.

Denzel and the others formed a line so Charles could greet them one by one at Leicester Square Odeon -- but when British royalty approached Hollywood royalty things got a little awkward.

Check out the video ... Charles extends his hand to Denzel, who nervously shakes it and says, "I didn’t know if I was supposed to grab your hand."

Charles then asks Denzel about his role as emperor Macrinus, causing him to stumble a bit over his words, "I’m ... just an awful … I’m a lovely man you’ll see. I’m a lovely chap."

Charles also complimented Denzel on his "fantastic" movie career. Denzel then ended their meet and greet by thanking the king twice.