Ridley Scott said he had to treat Joaquin Phoenix differently to get things to work back when they filmed the iconic Gladiator, with Russell Crowe apparently calling out the actor for being 'unprofessional'.
Joaquin Phoenix may be a name that comes to mind when it comes to great performances, but the actor seemingly hasn’t always been as confident in his own abilities.
You might still have fond memories of the 2000 epic Gladiator, and Phoenix is likely a key reason for that.
Phoenix, who was in his mid 20s at the time, played the corrupt Roman emperor Commodus and even ended up being nominated for an Oscar for his performance.
His co-star Russell Crowe, who played general-turned-slave Maximus, also gave a brilliant performance and even went on to win an Oscar for his efforts.
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However, according to director Ridley Scott, things weren’t always so smooth on set.
In fact, at one point Crowe allegedly had a go at Phoenix and accused the actor of being unprofessional.
Ahead of the upcoming sequel to the first film, Gladiator II, Scott spoke to the New York Times and recalled working with the actors.
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He said: “[Joaquin] was in his prince’s outfit saying, ‘I can’t do it’. I said, ‘What?’ And Russell said, 'This is terribly unprofessional'.”
From that point, Scott said he did what he could to appease Phoenix.
He added: “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.”
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Phoenix has previously spoken about his nervousness around his role.
Back in an interview with Collider in 2018, he said: “I absolutely have that nervousness on every movie…but I think that probably Gladiator was one of the most intimidating because the first set that I went on was just massive.
“It looked like it was acres of land, and tons of trucks and trailers and, you know, hundreds of extras, and multiple cameras. Suddenly the scale of this hit me and I was overwhelmed by that. I didn’t think that I was going to be able to make it through that.”
The actor also praised Scott for being patient with him through filming.
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He added: “I went to [Scott] and said, 'I don’t know what to do, I just can’t do this. I don’t know what you’re gonna do. This just isn’t gonna be possible'.”
“And Ridley was really smart. He just shot me for four hours and he didn’t put film in the camera…he wasn’t gonna waste film. He’s like, ‘It’s gonna be hours before this kid f***ing gets anything, if at all, so I’m not gonna waste film'.”
UNILAD has contacted Phoenix’s representatives for comment.
Topics: Film and TV, Joaquin Phoenix
Gerrard Kaonga