“I said, ‘What?’ And Russell said, ‘This is terribly unprofessional’,” Scott recalled.
Scott also spoke of how he coaxed Phoenix to stay in the job, adding: “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.”
The film ended up winning five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor (for Russell Crowe), Best Costume Design, Best Sound and Best Visual Effects. For his iconic role as Commodus, Phoenix won Best Supporting Actor at the Critics’ Choice Awards. Crowe also won Best Actor at the Critics’ Choice Awards, and received Best Actor nods at the Golden Globes and BAFTAs.
Phoenix recently revealed one of his favourite things on set is a lack of ego.
He gushed that Lady Gaga, 38 – his co-star on 2024′s Joker: Foile À Deux – displayed no egotistical tendencies when they were working together.
“I found [Gaga] to be without ego and had such a fierce determination. She would get right in with us,” the actor said in a behind-the-scenes featurette film put out ahead of the sequel’s release.
“She understood that there had to be a rawness to the character. There’s not a lot of actors that are comfortable working in that way.”
Gaga, real name Stefani Germanotta, also spoke in the featurette, adding: “[Making Joker: Foile À Deux] was a very special experience. I had never seen a world created like that before.
“It brought out all of that rough and tough energy and how big these dreams were, and how far they would fall.”
– Additional reporting by NZ Herald.
