10 Actors Who Passed On Iconic Movie Roles
9. Mel Gibson – Maximus Decimus Meridius In Gladiator
The years 1999 to 2001 were quite the time to be Russell Crowe. His three consecutive Academy Award nominations for The Insider, Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind cemented his status as a Hollywood juggernaut.
He managed to net himself a win on his second try for his performance as Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general hellbent on revenge against those who betrayed him and forced him into slavery. But Russell Crowe initially had no interest in reading the Gladiator script, still being hard at work on The Insider when it was first shown to him.
Therefore, Ridley Scott approached Mel Gibson about the part instead, but the Braveheart star also declined because he thought he was too old for the role. He instead took the lead role in Roland Emmerich’s The Patriot, a decision which, based on how it performed against Gladiator, he no doubt regrets.
After Gibson turned the part down, Crowe was convinced by the director of The Insider, Michael Mann, to give the script a try and finally decided that he was entertained after all.