Ridley Scott Says Joaquin Phoenix Got Cold Feet on ‘Gladiator’ and Said ‘I Can’t Do It’; Then Russell Crowe Called It ‘Terribly Unprofessional’

“Gladiator” director Ridley Scott recently told The New York Times (via Entertainment Weekly) that Russell Crowe said Joaquin Phoenix was being “terribly unprofessional” on set when Phoenix was getting cold feet and had to be convinced to stay on the movie. Crowe headlined “Gladiator” as Maximus, with Phoenix starring as the villainous Commodus. Both actors earned Oscar nominations, with Crowe winning the best actor prize.

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

When asked how he convinced Phoenix to stay on the film, Scott asked: “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.”

Pheonix and Scott would reunite later in their careers for the 2023 historical drama “Napoleon.” The topic of Phoenix’s cold feet was brought up when The New York Times brought up Phoenix’s recent exit from Todd Haynes’ gay romance movie five days before cameras were set to start rolling. The actor’s decision forced Haynes and his team to shelve the project indefinitely. It appears Phoenix got cold feet on “Gladiator” as well, although Scott was able to get him to stay on.

While attending the Venice Film Festival this year to world premiere “Joker: Folie à Deux,” Phoenix was asked about his decision to pull out of the Haynes movie and responded: “If I do [comment], I’d just be sharing my opinion from my perspective and the other creatives aren’t here to say their piece, and so I don’t think that would be helpful.”

Soon after the Phoenix-Haynes drama unfolded, James McAvoy appeared on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast and revealed he only had about two weeks to prepare for his multiple roles in “Split” because he was cast at the last minute after Phoenix reportedly dropped out a couple weeks before the production start.

Variety has reached out to Phoenix and Crowe’s representative for comment regarding Scott’s “Gladiator” set story.