Hollywood star Russell Crowe says he feels a “tinge of jealousy” that he won’t be starring in the Gladiator sequel but he is also a bit “uncomfortable” about some of the aspects of the new movie. In the 2000 blockbuster period drama Gladiator, Russell Crowe played the role of Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius. He earned the Best Actor Oscar for his performance in the Ridley Scott directorial.
Ridley Scott is returning to helm the sequel starring Paul Mescal, known for Normal People and Aftersun. While he has no say in the new Gladiator movie as his character dies at the end of the original movie, Crowe said he was unsure about the “moral journey” of a particular character.
“I’m slightly uncomfortable with the fact they’re making another one — because, of course, I’m dead and I have no say in what gets done. But a couple of the things I’ve heard I’m like — no, no, no, that’s not in the moral journey of that particular character. But I can’t say anything, it’s not my place, I’m six feet under. So we’ll see what that is like,” the 60-year-old said on the “Kyle Meredith With…” podcast.
The actor, who was 36 when Gladiator released, said he fondly remembers the time he shot for the film. The epic historical drama proved to be a turnaround for Russell Crowe.
“It does, in a funny way — I reflect back: the age I was when I made that film and all the things that came after it, the doors that particular movie opened for me. This is just me being purely honest: there’s definitely a tinge of melancholy, a tinge of jealousy,” he said.
“I remember when I had tendons,” he then quipped.
In a previous interview, Russell Crowe said he felt “slightly jealous” that he isn’t a part of the sequel.
The first Gladiator film followed Russell Crowe’s Maximus, who after being forced into slavery, vows revenge against the usurper crown prince Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix) for the murders of his family and the king.
Its sequel would be centered on the character, Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen), who’s Maximus’s former lover and the sister of Commodus. Also starring Denzel Washington and Joseph Quinn, the film will hit the screens on November 22.
