Ridley Scott

 Russell Crowe explained why he said yes to "Gladiator' (2000): "They said, 'It's a $100 million film. You're being directed by Ridley Scott. You play a Roman General.' I've always been a big fan of Ridley's." Crowe later admitted that he initially felt unworthy of all the praise and the Oscar for Best Actor that he got for this movie. After seeing the completed movie, he felt it was a "director's film," and that the Oscar should have gone to Scott instead.

Scott cited "Spartacus" (1960) and "Ben-Hur" (1959) as influences on the film: "These movies were part of my cinema-going youth. But at the dawn of the new millennium, I thought this might be the ideal time to revisit what may have been the most important period of the last two thousand years – if not all recorded history – the apex and beginning of the decline of the greatest military and political power the world has ever known."

It was Michael Winner who persuaded Oliver Reed to audition for this movie. While working on their last collaboration, "Parting Shots" (1998), Reed complained, "I can't believe it, Ridley Scott wants me to go and read for him. But I'm a star." Winner replied, "Oliver, don't f**k with me. You're not a f**king star. You're out of work, and you're not old enough to retire, so you need a third act to your career. Obviously, they think if you're working with me, you can't be as drunk as people think you are. So go to Ridley and read. End of story, Oliver, and if he wants you to read twice, read twice." Reed died three weeks before principal photography ended. Because his character Proximo was considered a key character, a clause in the movie's insurance contract would have allowed the filmmakers to re-shoot all of Reed's scenes with another actor at the insurer's expense, about $25 million. However, most of the actors and crew were exhausted from the punishing schedule, and Scott did not want to cut Reed from the movie. The script was rewritten, and a body double and CGI were used to give Reed's character a plausible resolution.

Happy Birthday, Ridley Scott!