The night Joaquin Phoenix and Russell Crowe became friends
Throughout the 21st century, Joaquin Phoenix has firmly established himself as one of the most brilliant actors in the business. While he has dabbled in lighter fare occasionally, such as his delightful turns in Her and Inherent Vice, Phoenix specialises in intense, hauntingly powerful portrayals of dark, tormented characters.
As a result, many of his roles are difficult to watch in many ways, yet, thanks to just how captivating Phoenix is as an actor, it’s impossible to look away. His masterpiece of a performance in Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master and his Oscar-winning turn as the Joker are perhaps his two finest performances, but his entire filmography is filled with note-perfect roles.
Generally, Phoenix is one of the most reliable actors in Hollywood, but he has also revealed to be a very insecure performer who gets considerable anxiety before each role. This was never more the case than with his first major role, the one which launched him into the mainstream: Emperor Commodus in Gladiator.
The film’s lead actor, Russell Crowe, also felt insecure about his part, but for a different reason. The development was troubled (not that you’d know it from the final film), and the screenplay was constantly being rewritten during production. The movie might have gone on to win ‘Best Picture’ and become a beloved people’s favourite, but this outcome was probably a surprise to those involved in the film.
Crowe picked up on the anxiety Phoenix was suffering from, and another cast member, Richard Harris, also noticed Phoenix’s nerves. Already worried about the movie itself, Crowe wasn’t sure if he’d get on with his inexperienced co-star, so he and Harris came up with their own strategy to gauge Phoenix’s personality: they took him on a night out and got him drunk.
Thankfully, on this occasion, Crowe and Phoenix got along very well, and the pair became friends from that point onward. Crowe recalls: “I am very pleased to tell you that Joaquin Phoenix is a magnificent young man and a wonderful poet. That came out at about 3:30 in the morning.”
Better still, in the end, Phoenix’s worries, though more than understandable given his inexperience, were unfounded. His brilliantly hateful turn as the film’s skin-crawling antagonist, Commodus, remains arguably one of his very best roles even now, and it also earned him his first Oscar nomination. Gladiator 2 is due next autumn, although, given that both their characters died in the first film, neither Crowe nor Phoenix are set to return.