Ridley Scott reveals that Joaquin Phoenix was getting cold feet about playing Commodus in Gladiator

Ridley Scott is currently on the promotion circuit for his latest epic, Gladiator II. The filmmaker has been hyping throughout the whole production about the grand scale of the film and has even called it the biggest movie he’s ever made. Scott recently spoke about making such a film at 86 years old (he turns 87 this month) and how he doesn’t plan to slow down. Scott explained, “Are you kidding? I wouldn’t be doing it [if directing felt like work]. It’s my passion and therefore my pleasure. I think it actually keeps me going. I’ve damaged myself with too much tennis. I’ve got dodgy knees and I’m now getting injections in them — I can’t be the old guy staggering around the set because when we were doing Gladiator II we’re in 112 degrees and I have to be out there.”

Variety reports that Scott nearly had a problem on his hands on the first film when Joaquin Phoenix was getting cold feet about the movie. Scott told The New York Times, “[Joaquin] was in his prince’s outfit saying, ‘I can’t do it.’ I said, ‘What?’ And Russell said, ‘This is terribly unprofessional.’” The director then revealed how he talked Phoenix down and was able to get him to follow through, “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.”

This revelation comes just as Phoenix had publicly left a Todd Haynes project abruptly as filming was set to start. Haynes’ film revolves around two men who are intense lovers and leave California for Mexico. The reason for Phoenix’s exit is unclear. Still, some have wondered if the project’s intimate and explicit content was a factor. Phoenix would be inquired about the situation surrounding his abrupt exit and he would reply, “If I do, I’d just be sharing my opinion from my perspective and the other creatives aren’t here to share their piece so I don’t think that would be helpful. So I won’t.”

Additionally, James McAvoy would reveal that he had to quickly prepare for his role in Split after Phoenix would also drop out of that film a couple weeks before filming commenced.