Alternate castings

The part of Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius is one of Russell Crowe's best-known roles, and it was always going to his.

After watching his 1992 film ‘Romper Stomper’, director Ridley Scott knew he had found the right actor to star in his historical epic.

He recounted: “[I] thought he was someone worth watching.”

Some rumors suggested that Mel Gibson was in the running for the part, but Ridley insisted the character was always going to be Russell.

He said: “Russell was really always my first choice.”

As for other characters, Jude Law screen-tested for Emperor Commodus, and Jennifer Lopez auditioned for Lucilla, but the parts went yo Joaquin Phoenix and Connie Nielsen.