Russell Crowe Calls Joaquin Phoenix 'Hideously Unprofessional'

Director Ridley Scott, in a new interview with The New York Times ahead of the release of the long-awaited sequel Gladiator II, shared his memories of how Joaquin Phoenix got on the nerves of his co-star Russell Crowe on the set of the blockbuster Gladiator.

Phoenix, who plays the titular character's antagonist, the charismatic and cunning Emperor Commodus, wanted to back out at the last minute. "Joaquin, in a suit, said, 'I can't do this,'" the director recalls. "I said, 'What?' And Russell said, 'This is terribly unprofessional.'"

However, the director managed to persuade Phoenix, as they have a very warm relationship. Scott added: "I can act as an older brother or a father. But I am very close with Joaquin. Gladiator was a baptism of fire for both of us."

Joaquin Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar for his role as the villain Commodus in the 2000 film Gladiator. Crowe won for Best Actor and the film won for Best Picture, but Scott was left without a statuette for Best Director (an award he has yet to receive, despite three nominations throughout his career). In an earlier interview with Collider, Phoenix shared his impressions of working on the film.

"I get really nervous before every movie... but Gladiator was probably one of the most terrifying movies. The first set I walked on was just massive," Phoenix said in an interview. "It felt like acres of land, tons of trucks and trailers, hundreds of extras, and tons of cameras. Suddenly the enormity of it hit me, and I was overwhelmed. I didn't think I could get through it."

Phoenix continued: "I went to Scott and said, 'I don't know what to do, I just can't do this. I don't know what you're going to do. It's just impossible.' And Ridley was very clever. He just shot me for four hours and didn't put any film in the camera... he wasn't going to waste any film. He said, 'It's going to be a few hours before this guy gets anything done, if anything, so I'm not going to waste any film.'"

Joaquin Phoenix recently re-teamed with Ridley Scott for Napoleon, which was released last year. The director told The Times that the star was also hesitant about taking on the historical epic until his colleague Paul Thomas Anderson (who previously worked with Phoenix on The Master and Inherent Vice) helped rewrite the script.