Given the actor’s filmography, Russell Crowe looks like an intimidating dude. He’s played Les Miserables’ Javert, Man of Steel’s Jor-El, Noah of the Bible and even Robin Hood. So you’d think a serious actor would take a serious approach to other things in his career. But I’ve been wonderfully proved wrong. Crowe is clearly a goofball, because he just announced himself as his Gladiator character in an interview -- and it was glorious.
The Aussie actor sat down for an interview with Sydney’s division of ABC News (Australian Broadcast Corp), Russell Crowe was captured saying “My name is Maximus” to the camera crew to slate his name for the station. The network’s Jonathan Hair blessed us with the footage:
Someone on the crew had just asked him to state his name before he smiled to himself and decided to say a famous line from Gladiator instead. The actor is clearly having a good time, and we love to see him referencing one of his most memorable roles over 20 years after its release. The line is from one of the epic's unforgettable scenes, in which the Roman general removes his helmet in the Roman Coliseum to say his name and give a rousing speech in front of many. It's at that moment that he announces that he will “have his vengeance.”
It’s an incredible scene in the Ridley Scott film ,and Russell Crowe still delivers that line beautifully. Gladiator was the movie that really put him on the map. He would win his Oscar for the role in 2001 and go on to star in a string of successes including A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander (which is returning to the screen) and 3:10 To Yuma. Check out the scene below:
For many years, fans have been looking out for a Gladiator sequel that has never come. Most recently, rumors have swirled around Chris Hemsworth taking on a Gladiator sequel as Maximus’ son following the actors bonding on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder. The Marvel movie, which recently wrapped in Australia, sees Crowe playing the god Zeus.
Ridley Scott has been attached to direct a Gladiator 2 for sometime, but he's recently been focused on his TV show Raised By Wolves along with two upcoming movies The Last Duel and House of Gucci. Peter Craig, who wrote The Town, Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 & 2 and Bad Boys For Life is apparently penning the script. The movie would reportedly follow Maximus’ son, Lucius, all grown up as he takes on his father’s legacy.
Gladiator 2 or not, we’re happy to see that Russell Crowe has still got it, with Gladiator still running through his head. He'll enter the MCU as Zeus when Thor: Love and Thunder hits theaters on May 6, 2022.
