Nearly 25 years later, 'Gladiator' director Ridley Scott revealed that Joaquin Phoenix almost backed out of his Oscar-nominated role.

Director Ridley Scott returned to ancient Rome for the upcoming Gladiator II, arriving more than two decades after the original starring Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. When looking back on the first installment,

"Gladiator" director Ridley Scott recently told The New York Times (via Entertainment Weekly) that Russell Crowe told Joaquin Phoenix he was being "terribly unprofessional" on set when Phoenix was getting cold feet and had to be convinced to stay on the movie.