At 85 years of age, Ridley Scott seems to be hardly aging and hasn’t lost a bit of his visionary characteristics that made him one of the best directors the world has ever seen. The creator of masterpieces like Gladiator, The Martian, and Black Hawk Down, he has given the world several memorable movies in his long career.
Currently working on Gladiator 2, the compelling filmmaker recently sat down to discuss his past and future ventures. When the topic of Joaquin Phoenix came about, he described his character in the Oscar-winning movie as most ‘sympathetic’ despite having played the most hated villain in the movie.
Ridley Scott Believes Joaquin Phoenix’s Gladiator Character Is Most Sympathetic
The epic historical drama film of 2000, Gladiator bagged over five Academy Awards and 12 nominations. The movie established Russell Crowe as one of the best actors of all time while simultaneously drawing huge praise for Joaquin Phoenix as the corrupt and power-hungry Roman Emperor Commodus.
Despite his portrayal of one of the most hated villainous characters, the filmmaker Ridley Scott described his character as the most sympathetic in the entire film. While talking to Deadline recently, Scott revealed,
“I saw him as the most sympathetic character of all, in Gladiator. He was a product of neglect, total neglect of a father that he adored. Then finally in the film, the father would say, I’m going to neglect you even further. You will not be the prince of Rome.”
While many would love to agree to disagree with Scott, there is a reason why he considers Commodus as one deserving sympathy and pity, for he was the creation of his father’s neglect rather than his own menacing nature.
Reason Why Ridley Scott Believes Commodus Deserves Sympathy
Joaquin Phoenix’s portrayal of Commodus was wrought by complex inner struggles, insecurities, flaws, and a deep desire for validation that ultimately led him to become a formidable, cruel ruler. But for Ridley Scott, the character albeit deeply flawed and menacing deserved sympathy. While talking to Deadline, he revealed the moment that made Commodus the most sympathetic person in his eyes,
“And then the father realizes in his old age that he needs some form of absolute. So he does something fatal. He kneels before the boy asking for forgiveness. That was fatal because the boy has never seen his father ask for that kind of close discussion. So he suffocates him. So from that moment on, I thought Joaquin[‘s character] was the most sympathetic person during the movie. What he did and what followed, what came out of it, the nature of it had been created by his father.”
Despite his regard for Commodus, Scott maintained that both Maximus and Commodus were victims. While Commodus was a victim of his father’s neglect, Maximus was the victim of the bloody game of succession that he never wanted to be part of.
Gladiator can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
