Gladiator: Russell Crowe told Joaquin Phoenix he was being ‘unprofessional’, Ridley Scott reveals

Russell Crowe Called Joaquin Phoenix 'Unprofessional' on ‘Gladiator’ Set

Gladiator Moviegoers may not have been able to tell based on the final product, but Joaquin Phoenix wasn’t always comfortable on the set of Gladiator, and according to director Ridley Scott — Russell Crowe wasn’t very happy about it. Scott, 86, spoke with The New York Times ahead of the November 22 release of Gladiator II, where he recalled the first days of filming the 2000 historical epic. Phoenix, 50, played the Roman emperor Commodus, oppos…

Ridley Scott says Joaquin Phoenix got cold feet on 'Gladiator,' Russell Crowe called it 'unprofessional'

“Gladiator” director Ridley Scott recently told The New York Times that Russell Crowe said Joaquin Phoenix was being “terribly unprofessional” on set when Phoenix was getting cold feet and had to be convinced to stay on the movie.

‘So he has a history of doing this?’: Ridley Scott exposes Joaquin Phoenix’s worrying pattern on ‘Gladiator’ set

Ridley Scott says Joaquin Phoenix got cold feet and nearly walked out of the first Gladiator film, just like what happened with a recent Todd Haynes project, in which the Joker actor was meant to play a gay man in 1930s Mexico. “He was in his prince’s outfit saying, ‘I can’t do it,'” Scott recalled in a recent interview with the New York Times. Phoenix was playing Commodus, who begins the film as the unscrupulous, power-hungry son of Emperor Ma…

Gladiator: Ridley Scott says Joaquin Phoenix threatened to quit original film

Ridley Scott says actor Joaquin Phoenix had second thoughts about playing Commodus in Gladiator II, but he managed to persuade him to stay on.