Russell Crowe has had an exemplary career spanning more than 30 years. The actor has shown his versatility as a dramatic performer with films like The Insider, L.A. Confidential, Cinderella Man, and The Beautiful Mind. However, it was 2000’s Gladiator which brought him worldwide fame and catapulted his star power to great heights.
The film marked his first collaboration with director Ridley Scott who is known for being a perfectionist on set. The director is also very particular about how he presents his scenes and his actors on-screen. During one intense and dangerous scene involving a horse, Crowe volunteered to perform the scene without any stunt double.
Russell Crowe Did A Deadly Action Sequence On Gladiator Despite Ridley Scott’s Concerns
After incredible dramatic performances in L.A. Confidential and The Insider, Russell Crowe committed to his biggest role up to that point with 2000’s Gladiator, which was directed by Ridley Scott. The film required Crowe to execute some heavy-duty action sequences, making his role a physically demanding one.
One such scene involved his character riding a horse down a rough mountainside. It was a dangerous scene to execute and Scott wanted stunt performers instead of Crowe to do the scene in case something goes wrong and injures him. However, Crowe went and did the risky scene himself.
In an interview with Variety, the actor revealed that the scene also involved explosions that were going off near him and it was a pretty ‘hairy’ scene to pull off. When Scott was not happy with how the stunt performer did the scene, Crowe volunteered to do it as he had some horse riding experience. The actor said,
I think you have to take a pinch of salt when Ridley expresses that he really cares about the safety of an actor. We did have a funny time on that film because we had a lot of stunt guys who they wanted to do their job. But in reality, I had a good amount of horse experience before then. There were shots in there where other people would double me and then he would complain about a shot.
I would just be like, “Well, just let me do it then!” But that particular slope down into the battlefield with all the fires going off and the explosions going off, that was actually a pretty hairy day…you’ve got to give it a fair “whack” to be able to do that. You’ve got to position yourself right.
Crowe also talked about how the industry looked down on the film and believed it would be a big flop. However, the film was a huge success, grossing $460 million against a $103 million budget (via Box Office Mojo). Gladiator won five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.
Gladiator II Will Have A Strong Connection With The First Film Through Pedro Pascal’s Role
Ridley Scott is returning to the glorious world of Russell Crowe‘s Gladiator with its sequel Gladiator II. The film will mainly focus on a grown-up version of Lucius played by Paul Mescal. Pedro Pascal plays Marcus Acacius, a Roman general who was trained under Crowe’s character, Maximus Decimus Meridius.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Pascal stated that the film will have an identity shaped by the legacy of Maximus, who died in the first film. While Acacius has ingrained the code of honor and principles that Maximus taught him, he is a completely different person who is capable of a lot of different things. Pascal said,
This movie has an identity that is shaped by his legacy. It wouldn’t make sense for it not to. [Acacius has] learned from the best so of course this code of honor is ingrained into his training and into his existence.
But at the end of the day, he’s a different person. And that can’t change who he is. Maximus is Maximus, and that can’t be replicated. That just makes Acacius capable of different things.
The sequel is set about 15-20 years after the first film and features new characters as well as returning ones. In addition to Pascal and Mescal, the film will also star Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Connie Nielsen, and Derek Jacobi.
Gladiator II will hit theatres on November 22, 2024.
Fans can watch Gladiator on Prime Video.
