Maximus – Gladiator – Mel Gibson. Cult roles almost played by somebody else

Russel Crowe made his mark thanks to Gladiator, and it was in this film that he showed he could do wonders on the screen; he later proved his huge talent and versatility with a much subtle role in A Beautiful Mind. Crowe, however, was pretty lucky...

It is said that Mel Gibson was the first choice here. Gibson had the chance to become Maximus, the protagonist of Gladiator, a character for which Russel Crowe was awarded an Oscar. The Australian actor declined the offer because he was afraid of the intensity of the whole project, and also said that he was too old for this type of cinema.

As Brian Cox mentions in his autobiography, Gibson was exhausted while filming his magnum opus, Braveheart (where Gibson was both the director and lead actor). Everyone was stunned at the time about how he coped with action scenes in which he did not use the help of stuntmen. Cox was impressed with the actor's stamina and the fact that Gibson could handle all the action sequences. Still, the actor gave up for personal reasons – the shooting of both movies coincided. He probably couldn't handle the demanding scenes of Gladiator. Nevertheless, it seems that the film wasn't hurt by the young blood of Crowe.