Russell Crowe’s performance in Gladiator helped kickstart the new millenium in film. It’s a brutally violent picture that tells the story of a general who became a slave and a slave who defied an emperor .
Below are 10+ wild behind-the-scenes secrets about Gladiator that fans didn’t know. Prepare to be entertained, there’s a lot to get through!
1. Joaquin Phoenix ad-libbed one of his most famous lines.
When Commodus screams in Lucilla’s face “Am I not merciful?!” actress Connie Nielsen was completely caught off guard.
The scream wasn’t scripted at all, so the jolt of terror you see on her face is the real deal.
2. Russell Crowe’s inspiration was home grown.
The scene where Maximus is describing the way his home looks and smells wasn’t scripted.
Russell Crowe was actually describing the way his home in Australia both looks and smells in the morning and night.
3. Joaquin Phoenix had an extremely bizarre method for getting into character.
Before they would film their scenes together, Joaquin used to ask Russell to punch him in the face.
“Joaquin was very nervous on the set and I went to Richard and said, `Mate, what are we gonna do with this kid, he’s asking me to abuse him before takes.'”
In case you were wondering, Russell never ended up hitting Joaquin. Instead, they came up with a better solution!
“So Richard says, `Let’s get him [expletive].’ We talked about how he requires an external force to get him into the moment and through a number of hours and a number of cans of GUINNESS I got the point across to him.”
In the end, Russell was able to help Joaquin understand that motivation doesn’t have to come from external force.
Russell goes on to explain that “It’s actually an internal journey and everything he needs to do with the character lives within him.”
4. They used real tigers for the battle scene inside the Coliseum.
Yes, you heard me correctly, that’s “tigers,” plural.
In total, there were five of them secured to a tight leash and a veterinarian was supervising in case anything “went wrong.”
5. Oliver Reed never got to see the film on the big screen.
Oliver Reed plays Proximo in the film. Tragically, just a few short weeks before filming wrapped, Oliver passed away.
The remaining scenes of his were shot with a combination of a body double as well as CGI rendering.
6. Russell Crowe had serious issues with the dialogue in the script.
Russell went so far as to tell scriptwriter William Nicholson,
“Your lines are garbage, but I’m the greatest actor in the world and I can make even garbage sound good.”
7. The Hulk almost made a cameo appearance.
Lou Ferrigno, who played the live-action TV version of The Hulk , was originally cast to play Tigris of Gaul.
Once production began, he was replaced at the last minute by Sven-Ole Thorsen. Hopefully, they didn’t make him angry. They wouldn’t like Lou when he’s angry…
8. Russell Crowe wasn’t the first choice to play Maximus.
The role was originally offered to Mel Gibson , who declined the offer due to the physical requirements.
Mel was 43 at the time and felt that he was too old to play the part.
9. All of the weaponry and props were made by hand.
Close to 27,000 pieces of armor and two times as many weapons were made specifically for the film.
In the end, so much metalwork was produced that designers could have outfitted an entire army.
10. Filming took a serious physical toll on Russell Crowe.
The list of Russell’s on-set injuries is long and painful. He tore his Achilles tendon (what a coincidence!), and severely injured his hip.
Both injuries still plague him to this day.
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11. There’s a nod to two famous TV cowboys.
Maximus explains that the horses on his breastplate are named Argento and Scatto. Roughly translated, it means “Silver” and “Trigger.”
Silver was the name of the Lone Ranger ‘s horse, and Trigger belonged to Roy Rogers.
12.Commodus really was emperor of Rome and he even fought in the arena!
Commodus was the first and only emperor of Rome to do this.
But he didn’t just make a single appearance, he “fought” on multiple occasions and he charged the Roman people an inordinate amount of money for the privilege.
At first, the people loved Commodus and favored him heavily. But it didn’t take long for the popular opinion to change.
Just like he’s portrayed in the film, Commodus slowly became more and more egocentric and unpredictable.
His actions would inevitably lead to the destruction of the empire and the fall of Rome.
13. Steven Spielberg green-lit the project after asking only three questions.
Steven wanted to know that “My gladiator movie, it was about ancient Roman gladiators–not American, Japanese, whatever else? Yes, I said. Taking place in the ancient Coliseum ? Yes. Fighting with swords and animals to the death and such? Yes. Great, let’s make the movie.”
14. There were several plot revisions.
Among them was that Maximus’ family was removed , he no longer died, he wasn’t the populist hero. It became a simple dichotomy: some creative participants wanted to make a version of Ben Hur . I always saw this as more All Quiet on the Western Front .”
15. Director Ridley Scott was inspired by a painting.
The painting depicts a giant gladiator standing over his conquered foe, awaiting instruction from the crowd.
“That image spoke to me of the Roman Empire in all its glory and wickedness.”
16. The production team got permission to burn down a forest!
Ridley Scott worked out a deal with the British Forestry Commission. The forest used in the film was scheduled for deforestation , so Scott simply offered to burn it down for them!
17. The cast could have looked incredibly different.
In the beginning, Ridley Scott was screen testing Jude Law for the role of Commodus. Not only that but Jennifer Lopez also auditioned to play Lucilla.
I couldn’t picture Jude Law as Commodus but J-lo, on the other hand, would have been great!
18. Joaquin Phoenix had some questionable tactics for the film.
First, he decided to gain a bunch of weight without consulting anyone. Joaquin felt that the gluttony was metaphorical . He also kept a prop sword in his hotel room at all times.
19. Johnny Cash was a big fan of the film.
Joaquin played Johnny in the biopic Walk The Line . He describes a dinner meeting at the legendary musician’s home:
“He started quoting to me the most sadistic dialogue from Gladiator with obvious relish. I was fascinated that this was the same person.”
20. Joaquin Phoenix and Ridley Scott nearly got in a fight!
The way that Joaquin tells the story, they’d had a long day filming and for whatever reason, the actor simply didn’t feel like performing.
As you can probably imagine, this infuriated the director.
Ridley Scott finally had enough with his young actor and ended up screaming in his face!
Ridley began shouting “You’d better get on with your [expletive] job!”
“That was the fire I needed,” Phoenix recalls, “I can’t fake it and just say, ‘I’m yelling now!’ I know if I’m lost in the moment or not.”
21. Musician Nick Cave penned a sequel script!
Some of the more outlandish plot details included Maximus fighting with the gods in the afterlife, being re-incarnated, as well as being gifted with eternal life.
22. The film got the hand gestures all wrong.
It’s a commonly held belief that a “thumbs down” in the Coliseum meant death. In truth, “thumbs down” was the signal for a gladiator to shield his sword, allowing his conquered foe to fight another day.
23. Most gladiator battles weren’t fights to the death.
Gladiators actually have a lot in common with professional wrestlers or boxers. The business was entertainment , not death.
Only very occasionally would a gladiator be put to the sword.
24. *Gladiator* was Joaquin Phoenix’s first Oscar nomination!
It’s an odd thing to say but Joaquin was born to play the maniacal emperor! Unfortunately, Joaquin didn’t walk away with the Oscar but the role put him on the trajectory to become one of Hollywood’s most respected actors.
25. The film was adapted into a musical.
It seems like an odd choice, but in May of 2006, a musical version of Gladiator opened in North Hollywood. The production didn’t run for long and it was based on the themes and music of composer Hans Zimmer .
26. Connie Nielson, who played Lucilla, believes that the film had a much deeper meaning beneath the surface.
“Gladiator was also a film that pointed out we, as a people, can be easily seduced into complacency when we turn to simple entertainment and violence as entertainment.”
“It pointed to the fact that the emperor was able to connect all of Rome by creating this diversion all the time with the gladiatorial games.”
Hmm, now why does that sound so oddly familiar ?
What’s your favorite moment from Gladiator ? Leave a comment and let us know!
