Russell Crowe’s role as Maximus Decimus Meridius in “Gladiator” catapulted him to stardom and earned him an Oscar for Best Actor. Now, with news of a sequel confirmed by filmmaker Ridley Scott, Crowe admits to feeling a mix of emotions, including a “tinge of melancholy and jealousy.”
In the upcoming sequel, breakout star Paul Mescal from “Normal People” will take on the role of Lucius Verus, the grandson of Emperor Marcus Aurelius. However, Lucius Verus meets a tragic fate at the hands of Commodus, played by Joaquin Phoenix, after Marcus Aurelius passes the succession to Maximus.
Crowe, whose character memorably perished in a duel with Commodus in the original film, acknowledges that he has no influence on the sequel’s direction. In an interview on Kyle Meredith With…, Crowe expressed feeling “slightly uncomfortable” about the remake, given his character’s demise. “Because of course, I’m dead, and I have no say in what gets done,” he remarked. Despite this, he jokingly added, “I’m six feet under. So we’ll see what that is like.”
Reflecting on his experience working on “Gladiator,” Crowe described it as one of the most remarkable and defining films of his career. He reminisced about the opportunities that followed and the doors that the movie opened for him. Crowe fondly recalled the exhilaration of being young and in perfect shape while filming the epic, jokingly remarking, “So there’s definitely a tinge — and this is just being purely honest — a tinge of melancholy, a tinge of jealousy. Because I remember when I had tendons.”
Despite his humorous remark about tendons, Crowe remains busy in post-production on four films, including “The Exorcism,” Marvel’s “Kraven the Hunter,” the historical drama “Nuremberg,” and a biopic titled “Rothko.”
