Russell Crowe Says Original 'Gladiator' Script Was "So Bad" | THR News - video Dailymotion

The original script for 'Gladiator' was such a mess, Russell Crowe was not supposed to be allowed to read it before he signed on to do the film.

Transcript

00:00There was a little, there was definitely a little bit of risk involved at the time, you know?

00:05Although he went on to win Best Actor for the film,

00:07Russell Crowe is revealing that the original script of Gladiator was, quote, so bad.

00:12Will you move your helmet and tell me your name?

00:15My name is Gladiator.

00:17Appearing on The Tonight Show, the actor told host Jimmy Fallon

00:20that the original script for Gladiator was such a mess,

00:23the actor was not supposed to be allowed to read it before he signed on to do the film.

00:26Gladiator kind of is a unique experience because

00:29the script that they had was so bad, it was just so bad.

00:35Crowe goes on to say that he was talked into doing the 2000 classic

00:37based on the potential of what it could become,

00:39not how it was laid out on paper, using director Ridley Scott as the selling point.

00:44And here's the thing that I want you to think about.

00:46It's 180 AD, you're a Roman general, and you're being directed by Ridley Scott.

00:54Crowe agreed to the meeting and said he was blown away by Scott,

00:57who laid out his vision for the film, which would go on to win the Oscar for Best Picture

01:01and nab Crowe a Best Actor Oscar.

01:03Crowe said although he didn't have much confidence going into production,

01:07by the time the film wrapped, he knew he had done something special.

01:10The collective energy of that cast was fantastic, you know?

01:13To watch the full segment, head to the article on THR.com.

01:16For The Hollywood Reporter News, I'm Neha Joy.