Russell Crowe feels Gladiator love belongs to director Ridley Scott

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Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe struggled to enjoy the buzz surrounding his Oscar-winning performance in 2000’s Gladiator due to the “guilt” he felt over garnering most of the movie's critical acclaim.

The star received critical acclaim for his career-making role as Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius in the flick, but, speaking on Australian morning show Today on Tuesday, he insisted it was Scott who really made the film a success.

“(After starring in Gladiator), I got so many pats on the back, and, you know, I got some big awards and all that, and obviously that sort of stepped me up to a different level for quite some time,” he explained.

However, the star confessed the guilt set in while watching a live screening of Gladiator at the Colosseum in Rome, insisting: “It is a director’s film … Why did I get all the attention, when the Academy Award belongs to Ridley Scott?”

The revelation comes after Crowe revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that he almost turned down his career-making role in the movie because “the (initial) script they had was so bad.”

“It was just so bad,” he said with a laugh. “The producer didn’t know I’d actually already been able to get a copy, but the thing he said was, ‘I don't want to send you the document we have because you won’t respond to it, but I want to encourage you to have a meeting with Ridley Scott and here’s the thing that I want you to think about: It’s 180 AD, you’re a Roman general and you’re being directed by Ridley Scott. Just think about that.’”