Russell Crowe played the lead role in Gladiator, but the movie nearly cast a few other notable actors to play Maximus instead. Ridley Scott's 2000 historical epic put Crowe in the leading role as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a commander in the Roman Empire, and the actor did not disappoint. He was recognized among Gladiator's Oscars wins, as he took home the Academy Award for Best Actor. Although he never returned for a sequel and Gladiator II shifted the focus to Maximus' son, its still among the most recognized and celebrated of Crowe's roles.
The impact of starring in Gladiator was tremendous, as it became one of Russell Crowe's career-defining movies. The film made $465 million at the box office, establishing him as a bankable star who could headline bigger productions moving forward, and his Oscar win made him an awards threat too. This helped him have a huge hit with A Beautiful Mind and continue to be in box office hits and prestigious Oscar-nominated productions. While his star was already starting to shine brightly before, Gladiator made Russell Crowe an A-list actor - but he wasn't the only actor considered to play Maximus.
Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise & Antonio Banderas Were Considered To Play Maximus
Steven Spielberg Was Involved In The Process
Prior to Russell Crowe signing on to play Maximus, Gladiator considered casting Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, and Antonio Banderas in the lead role. Each of them was considered partly due to Steven Spielberg, who was working with DreamWorks when writer David Franzoni began writing the Gladiator script. He told Yahoo, "There were a couple of actors that Steven felt he needed to go to because of his relationship with them. And we were all sort of hoping they’d say no."
Tom Cruise starred in Mission: Impossible II the same year as Gladiator
Steven Spielberg has never directly worked on one of Mel Gibson's movies, but Gibson did want to work with Spielberg and play the lead role in Schindler's List. He worked with Tom Cruise twice, Minority Report and War of the Worlds, although both of those projects occurred after Gladiator. Meanwhile, Spielberg was a producer on The Mask of Zorro, giving him a hand in Antonio Banderas' successful action film. While Gibson, Cruise, and Banderas were all names considered to play Maximus, it's unknown if they ever received formal offers for the role or came close to being cast.
Why Russell Crowe Was Chosen To Play Maximus Instead Of Gibson, Cruise Or Banderas
Crowe Was In The Midst Of His Breakout
Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, and Antonio Banderas all were understandable names to want to be Maximus in Gladiator. Gibson was already an established movie star having completed the Lethal Weapon quadrilogy, headlined multiple Mad Max movies, and was fresh off doing Braveheart. Cruise was a rising star who already had multiple Oscar nominations and proven box office success with Top Gun, Rain Man, and the first Mission: Impossible. Banderas was fresh off The Mask of Zorro and was becoming a bigger star in Hollywood.
Russell Crowe managed to get cast as Maximus in Gladiator because he had just had his breakout performance as the film's casting search heated up. His role in 1997's L.A. Confidential was widely celebrated, and he followed this up with an Oscar-nominated performance in The Insider. This led to Gladiator's creative team approaching Crowe about making Maximus the next role he would tackle. The actor ultimately accepted the part, although he later considered leaving the project due to the state of the script.
How Gladiator Would've Been Different If Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise Or Antonio Banderas Played Maximus
Each Actor Would Have Changed Gladiator's Portrayal Of Maximus
Russell Crowe's portrayal of Maximus is so good that its hard to even imagine what another actor would do with the part, but Mel Gibson, Tom Cruise, and Antonio Banderas all would've made the character quite different. Gibson's casting would've meant aging Maximus up a bit more, as he's eight years older than Crowe. An older version of Maximus could have meant a toned-down action element in Gladiator and showed his cerebral side a bit more. There's also the chance that Gladiator would've been a bigger hit with a box office star like Gibson attached.
Tom Cruise playing Maximus makes more sense, as he's more of a direct contemporary of Crowe's. And while Cruise was already a more established dramatic actor at this point, he was also in the middle of further embracing action roles. It's easy to imagine him fighting in the gladiator arena. That may have resulted in Gladiator becoming even more action-heavy if Cruise pushed for more opportunities to show off his abilities. However, Maximus' fatherly relationship with Lucius and command in battle might not have worked as well.
Antonio Banderas also would have changed Gladiator's portrayal of Maximus. This could have benefited one aspect of his story specifically, as casting the Spanish actor would have meant a greater ability for the film to lean into Maximus' nickname of The Spaniard. Banderas would be very believable in the other aspects of Maximus' story, handling the romance, action, and dramatic aspects equally well across previous works. So even though Russell Crowe proved to be a perfect choice for Maximus in Gladiator, these other casting options are fun what-if scenarios.
Writers David Franzoni , John Logan , William Nicholson
CastRussell Crowe , Joaquin Phoenix , Connie Nielsen , Oliver Reed , Richard Harris , Derek Jacobi , Djimon Hounsou , David Schofield , John Shrapnel , Tomas Arana , Ralf Moeller , Spencer Treat Clark , David Hemmings , Tommy Flanagan , Sven-Ole Thorsen , Omid Djalili , Nicholas McGaughey , Chris Kell , Tony Curran , Mark Lewis , John Quinn , Alun Raglan , David Bailie , Chick Allan , David J. Nicholls , Al Hunter Ashton , Billy Dowd , Giannina Facio , Giorgio Cantarini
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