20 Things You Somehow Missed In Gladiator

16. Russell Crowe Gave The Makeup Crew A Few Hours Off By Getting Genuine Cuts On His Cheek

Gladiator Chest
Universal / DreamWorks

War is not pretty, especially in ancient times. Weapons were brutal, tactics were harsh, field medicine was primitive, and horses...back up?

During the filming of the epic battle scene that opens the movie, Crowe's horse reared back, driving him into the branches of a tree. As a result, he ended up with the wounds on his right cheek that can be seen during the first quarter or so of the film. They were stitched by a medic, in a very simple style that would emulate what Roman medics would do.

No practical effects here, just Crowe taking one for the team.

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Child of the Canadian '80s. Fan of Star Wars, Marvel (films), DC (animated films), WWE, classic cartoons. Enjoys debating with his two teenage sons about whether hand-drawn or computer animation is better but will watch it all anyways. Making ongoing efforts to catalogue and understand all WhatCulture football references.