Ridley Scott Says Russell Crowe Called Joaquin Phoenix “Terribly Unprofessional” On ‘Gladiator’

Recently, there have been quite a few reports about how “difficult” Joaquin Phoenix can be before production begins. This all stems from the news that said Phoenix dropped out of a Todd Haynes film at the very last minute, leaving the project to die without his involvement. Since then, we’ve seen reports about him doing a similar thing quite a few times before. And according to Ridley Scott, he had to deal with Phoenix’s insecurities dating back to the first “Gladiator” film.

READ MORE: Danny Ramirez Said “It’s Definitely Disappointing” When Joaquin Phoenix Abruptly Left Todd Haynes Film

Speaking to the New York Times, Ridley Scott hyped up his upcoming “Gladiator II,” and he also talked a bit about the film that precedes it. Specifically, he was asked about a situation where Phoenix had to be convinced to stay on “Gladiator” while filming was set to begin. Scott went further and explained it actually happened on set, with his co-star Russell Crowe commenting on the situation. 

Ridley explained, “[Phoenix] was in his prince’s outfit saying, ‘I can’t do it.’ I said, ‘What?’ And Russell said, ‘This is terribly unprofessional.’”

Obviously, whatever was said to Phoenix at that time worked, as “Gladiator” would finish production with the actor as the main villain. It actually propelled Phoenix to even new heights in his acting career, as well. 

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This story also seems to back up all the other reports of issues on set. In the same interview, Ridley Scott also talked about the issue happening before “Napoleon” was set to film. According to reports, Phoenix demanded that Paul Thomas Anderson be hired to work on the script for the film just days before production was set to begin. 

Ridley Scott didn’t deny this, and said, “Tommy was doing ‘Licorice Pizza,’ advising me how to do ‘Napoleon.’ It turned into a lot of fun, actually. Three of us in this room screaming with laughter.”

We’ll see what other stories come out about Joaquin Phoenix as the weeks go by. There are probably plenty more.