Russell Crowe Hated Gladiator More Than You Think
While Russell Crowe seriously considered leaving “Gladiator,” he found a savior in the film’s director. The thespian had a number of conversations with Ridley Scott about the film’s narrative, with the “Blade Runner” director insistent on working things out with Crowe. “He said to me at some point in time, ‘We’re not committing anything to camera that you don’t believe in, 100 percent,'” the Maximus actor told Vanity Fair.
Crowe also said that when production first started, he and Scott only gelled on about 21 pages of the screenplay. “A script is usually between 103 or 104, 110 pages, something like that, so we had a long way to go, and we basically used up those pages in the first section of the movie,” the star said, adding, “By the time we got to our second location, which was Morocco, we were sort of catching up.”
Following the success of “Gladiator,” Scott and Crowe continued to work together, teaming up for pics like “American Gangster,” “Body of Lies,” “Robin Hood,” and more. It seems like Crowe has warmed up to his first film with Scott, as he’s since shared some fond memories from “Gladiator” while also expressing how jealous he is that he’s not part of the sequel.
Love Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe’s historical epic and want more? Watch the first trailer for “Gladiator 2,” which features Paul Mescal and Pedro Pascal fighting to the death.