One of the most popular movies of the 21st century, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was immediately praised as a modern classic when it hit theaters in 2000. It rejuvenated public interest in the “swords and sandals” genre and proved that in the age of franchises and burgeoning CGI effects, well-crafted movies with solid performances and breathtaking production design could still dominate the zeitgeist.
There are plenty of interesting behind-the-scenes stories from the movie. For example, Russell Crowe may have given a fantastic performance in the film, but he was a total diva on the set. So, here are 10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About Gladiator.
Ridley Scott purposely avoided the conventions of the “swords and sandals” genre
When it first hit theaters, Gladiator was credited with reviving the “swords and sandals” genre for modern audiences. But when he first signed on, Ridley Scott’s main intention with the film was to avoid all the clichés of the genre. These include characters sitting around, being fed bunches of grapes, and drinking out of goblets.
Scott didn’t want to give the silver screen yet another portrayal of Ancient Rome with all these Hollywood misconceptions; he wanted to craft a more historically accurate depiction of the era. Gladiator still takes plenty of artistic license with history, but not as much as your average “swords and sandals” movie.
Russell Crowe and Richard Harris calmed down Joaquin Phoenix with a few pints of Guinness
In his first couple of takes, Joaquin Phoenix was reportedly nervous, so he’d asked Russell Crowe to smack him around before they started shooting. Alarmed by this, Crowe approached Sir Richard Harris and said, “Mate, what are we going to do with this kid? He’s asking me to abuse him before takes.” Harris said, “Let’s get him p****d!” and they started knocking back pints of Guinness.
Crowe explained, “Through a number of hours and a number of cans of Guinness, I got the point across to him that it’s actually an internal journey and everything he needs to do with the character lives within him.” After that Phoenix was a lot more relaxed on-set.
Real tigers were used in the tiger scene
One of the most iconic scenes in Gladiator sees tigers being brought into the arena while Maximus fights Tigris the Gaul. These tigers weren’t created using computer-generated effects; there were five real tigers on the set, kept just 15 feet away from Russell Crowe. A veterinarian was present the whole time, with tranquilizer darts ready to put the tigers to sleep if anything went wrong.
The trap doors in the wooden floor that are used to release the tigers in this scene are apparently historically accurate, and were actually used for this kind of thing in the Colosseum in Ancient Rome.
When Maximus describes his home, Russell Crowe is describing his own home
There’s a scene in Gladiator in which Maximus describes his home. He talks about how his kitchen was arranged and how his home smells in the morning compared with how it smells at night. None of this was actually scripted.
Russell Crowe improvised the whole thing by describing his actual house in Australia, despite the fact that the movie takes place in 180 AD and Crowe was living in that house in 2000. He was just vague enough that the feel of his home in the present day could be used to describe the feel of a home so many hundreds of years ago.
Hans Zimmer’s co-composer Lisa Gerrard was controversially snubbed by the Academy
The musical score for Gladiator was composed by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard in collaboration with one another. However, when the Academy nominated it for Best Original Score, they only gave a nomination to Zimmer. This apparently had something to do with Academy regulations, but it still generated a lot of controversy for ignoring Gerrard’s contributions to the score.
In any case, Zimmer lost the award to Tan Dun for his Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon score. Zimmer and Gerrard were both included in Gladiator’s nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score - Motion Picture, and they actually won that one.
Oliver Reed died during filming and his final scenes were shot with a body double
Three weeks before the end of filming on Gladiator, Oliver Reed died. His character, Proximo, was very important to the plot, so there was a clause in Reed’s insurance coverage that allowed the filmmakers to reshoot all of his scenes with a different actor if he passed away, and the insurance company would pay for it.
However, the cast and crew were pretty burned out from the grueling shoot, and Ridley Scott wanted to preserve Reed’s existing performance. So, Reed’s final scenes were rewritten to give his character a new ending and they were shot using CGI and a body double.
The opening shot in the wheat field was supposed to be the final shot
The shot of Maximus walking through a wheat field was originally envisioned as the final shot of the film, and it was planned as such during pre-production of Gladiator. However, in the cutting room, editor Pietro Scalia decided that it might work better as the film’s opening shot.
There’s an old adage in filmmaking that a movie gets written three times: once, when the script is written; again, when that script is being shot and realized on-screen; and again, when it’s cut together in the editing room. This is an example of the third writing process completely changing the movie.
“Am I not merciful?” was improvised by Joaquin Phoenix
One of Emperor Commodus’ most iconic moments in Gladiator sees him yelling out, “Am I not merciful!?” This line wasn’t in the script; Joaquin Phoenix ad-libbed it in the middle of shooting. Connie Nielsen’s look of fright right after he screams the line is authentic, because she wasn’t expecting him to do it.
Game of Thrones actor Jack Gleeson has said that his portrayal of Joffrey Baratheon – perhaps the most universally despised TV character of the decade, or even in the history of television – was heavily inspired by Phoenix’s performance as Commodus in Gladiator. It’s easy to see the parallels.
Russell Crowe hated the script and kept trying to change it on-set
It’s pretty well-documented that Russell Crowe was a demanding diva on the set of Gladiator. He was unhappy with almost everything in William Nicholson’s script and kept trying to alter scenes the way he saw fit. If Ridley Scott rejected one of Crowe’s changes, he would storm off the set for not getting his way.
Initially, Crowe refused to say the now-iconic line, “And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.” He told Nicholson, “Your lines are garbage, but I’m the greatest actor in the world, and I can make even garbage sound good.” Nicholson has since joked, “In his defense, my lines probably were garbage.”
Mel Gibson turned down the role of Maximus
The first choice for the lead role of Maximus in Gladiator was Mel Gibson, but the actor turned it down. At the age of 43, Gibson felt that he was too old to play such a physically demanding role. By contrast, Joaquin Phoenix was always Ridley Scott’s top choice for the role of Commodus.
Of course, Russell Crowe ended up playing Maximus. The actor would later call Gladiator his favorite out of all the American movies he’s made, and he would also call Maximus his favorite out of all the characters he’s ever played, so he was lucky that Gibson turned down the part.
