Ridley Scott had to keep Joaquin Phoenix from dropping out of Gladiator

Joaquin Phoenix caused quite a controversy earlier this year when he abruptly dropped out of Todd Haynes’ next film. It was days before shooting and his exit basically ruined the movie’s chances of getting made. But what’s becoming clear is that this is simply Phoenix’s M.O. One of the most celebrated actors of his generation basically never wants to be in movies, and the trick is learning how to convince him to do it—and Ridley Scott knows the trick. 

Scott addressed the topic in a new interview with The New York Times, in which he was actually discussing Barry Keoghan, who had to drop out of Gladiator II. “Barry is one of the good ones, the same level as Joaquin Phoenix and Paul. Barry is so complex and actually has it under control. I know he’s a bit of a challenge, but it’s worth it. Like deciding on Joaquin, it’s worth it,” Scott said. This led to a discussion about Phoenix’s attempt to quit the first Gladiator in 2000: “He was in his prince’s outfit saying, ‘I can’t do it.’ I said, ‘What?’ And Russell [Crowe] said, ‘This is terribly unprofessional.'”

Scott was cagey about what the actual trick to convince Phoenix to stay on is. “I can act as a big brother or dad,” is all he revealed, adding, “But I’m quite a friend of Joaquin’s. Gladiator was a baptism of fire for both of us in the beginning.”

The duo went on to work together on last year’s Napoleon, about which Scott previously and diplomatically said, “If something bothers [Phoenix], he’ll let you know. He made [Napoleon] special by constantly questioning.” Which leads us to the second-most common move from the Joaquin Phoenix playbook: dumping on a film’s script and forcing last-minute rewrites. (Boy, doesn’t he sound like a joy to work with.) For the NYT, Scott is evasive about the rumor that Phoenix threatened to quit Napoleon, but he does confirm Paul Thomas Anderson was brought in to help with rewrites: “Tommy was doing Licorice Pizza, advising me how to do Napoleon. It turned into a lot of fun, actually. Three of us in this room screaming with laughter.” Hey, whatever works to keep the big star happy.