The character of Commodus in Ridley Scott's 2000 film Gladiator is regarded as Joaquin Phoenix's breakthrough role. Almost 25 years after its release, director Scott has disclosed that Phoenix almost pulled out of their film, which made Russell Crowe call the Joker star out.
"He was in his prince’s outfit saying, ‘I can’t do it.’ I said, ‘What?'” Scott told The New York Times. He went on to add, “And Russell [Crowe] said, ‘This is terribly unprofessional.'”
Elaborating on how he ensured that Phoenix remained part of the film, Scott stated, "I can act as a big brother or dad. But I’m quite a friend of Joaquin’s. Gladiator was a baptism of fire for both of us in the beginning.”
Phoenix is not part of Gladiator II, which is slated for a November 15 release. He last worked with Scott on 2023's Napoleon, which recently released a director's cut.
The Gladiator sequel follows Paul Mescal's character Lucius, whose younger version witnesses Maximus (Crowe) die following a battle with Commodus in the 2000 original. Now a grown-up, Lucius must fight in the Colosseum in order to bring back glory to Rome and its people. Connie Nielsen reprises her role of Lucius's mother Lucilla from Gladiator. The cast also includes Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, and Fred Hechinger.