Joaquin Phoenix tried quitting “Gladiator” mid-shoot before being persuaded to stay by Ridley Scott, the director said in an interview published Thursday. Ahead of the film’s sequel, “Gladiator II,” Scott told the New York Times that Phoenix ...

Joaquin Phoenix made his breakout performance in 2000’s Gladiator, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Nearly 25 years later, director Ridley Scott revealed that Phoenix nearly dropped out of the role of Commodus at the last minute,

“I’ve lit the fuse,” Scott said. “The ending of ‘Gladiator II’ is reminiscent of ‘The Godfather,’ with Michael Corleone finding himself with a job he didn’t want, and wondering, ‘Now, Father, what do I do?‘ So the next [film] will be about a man who doesn’t want to be where he is.”