Russell Crowe says the initial script of 'Gladiator' was 'so bad'

We all consider Ridley Scott's 'Gladiator' as one of the greatest films of all time. But its lead actor, Russell Crowe has revealed that the film did not hold potential when he had first read the script.

On Wednesday, the actor joined host Jimmy Fallon in his virtual 'The Tonight Show' and revealed that the initial script of the 2000 released film was "so bad".

"Gladiator was a unique experience because the script that they had was so bad -- it was just so bad," Crow said to Fallon.

"The producer did not know I was able to already get a copy, but the thing he said was, `I don`t want to send you the document we have because you won`t respond to it. But I want to encourage you to have a meeting with (director) Ridley Scott. And here`s the thing I want you to think about: It`s 180 A.D. You`re a Roman general. And you`re being directed by Ridley Scott," the veteran actor added.

Crowe said he agreed to the meeting and said he was blown away by Scott, who laid out his vision for the film.
"We just clicked on that first meeting. There was definitely a little bit of a risk involved with it at the time," Crowe added.
The actor said that while he had no confidence on the script on the first day of shoot but by the time the film wrapped up, he knew they had made something sepcial.

"The collective energy of that cast was fantastic," he told Fallon.

In hindsight, the action drama won the Best Picture and Best Actor award for Crowe at the Oscars and went on to make USD 460 million at the box office worldwide.`

Gladiator` featured Russell Crowe as Maximus, a General in the Roman army, who is betrayed by the Emperor and left for dead while his family is brutally murdered.He is eventually forced to become a gladiator after being captured by slave traders, who lead him back to Rome to fight as a gladiator while he plots his revenge against the Emperor who betrayed him.

Over the years, Crowe has delivered superlative performances in films like `The Insider, and `A Beautiful Mind`, but the portrayal of Maximus remains one of his finest acts to date.

Crowe will next be seen in a thriller called 'Unhinged' which will be the first film to get a theatrical release in US and UK post covid.