24 years ago, Ridley Scott’s sandal epic Gladiator was released in cinemas. The box office success of grossing $465 million (on a budget of $102 million) continued into the film’s Oscar win. But despite the great honor, there is one thing that makes lead actor Russell Crowe uncomfortable.
Russell Crowe thinks Joaquin Phoenix was passed over for the Gladiator Oscars
12 Oscar nominations won Gladiator 2001, 5 Academy Awards In the end, the historical film took home: for the best film, the best leading actor (Russell Crowe), the best costumes, the best sound and the best equipment. But that also means that seven other nominees came away empty-handed at the award ceremony – and two decades later, Crowe is particularly ashamed of one person who was left out: Joaquin Phoenix, who celebrated his big breakthrough as the Roman villain Commodus in Gladiator.
In his interview with Sensasine, Gladiator star Russell Crowe remembered the impressive production over 20 years ago – and co-star Joaquin Phoenix, who lost to Benicio del Toro (Traffic) as a Best Supporting Actor nominee at the Oscars:
When I saw the film [Gladiator] The last time I saw it was me a little embarrassing that I received so many awards for it. […] My character Maximus may be the engine of the story, but there is so much more to it. I don’t know why the rest of the world didn’t understand how majestic Joaquin [Phoenix] appeared in it. His performance is insane.
After Gladiator, it took two more Oscar nominations with Walk the Line and The Master before Joaquin Phoenix was finally able to take home the coveted 2020 trophy as leading actor for Joker. He can currently be seen in the sequel Joker 2: Folie à deux in cinemas.
Ridley Scott’s highly anticipated Sequel to Gladiator 2 coming next month, on November 14, 2024in German cinemas. However, Russell Crowe does not return to the arena.
We’ll find out at the beginning of next year whether the Gladiator sequel with a new cast can repeat its Oscar success. The Oscar nominations will be announced on January 17th and the award ceremony will take place on March 3rd, 2025.