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,

Joaquin Phoenix had hesitations about his now iconic role in the 2000 historical epic Gladiator, and almost dropped out, according to Ridley Scott. Speaking to The New York Times in a recent interview,

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 ...

The Joker star was locked in to play the lead role in Todd Haynes’ untitled gay romance flick but abruptly quit just five days before cameras were to start rolling, per Variety. His decision to exit the film, which reportedly featured explicit sex scenes, left production in “peril,” insiders told the outlet.

"He was in his prince’s outfit saying, 'I can’t do it,'" the director remembers. Joaquin Phoenix recently made headlines for dropping out of a planned gay romance film with director Todd Haynes at the last minute, but the actor's previous collaborators ...

Gladiator' was a "baptism of fire for both of us in the beginning," Ridley Scott said of how he and Joaquin Phoenix approached making the 2000 film According to director Ridley Scott, Joaquin Phoenix nearly dropped out of 2000's Gladiator.