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Russell Crowe's 'Electric' Hair Nearly Ruined Iconic Gladiator Speech

But director Ridley Scott found a way around the situation.

Russell Crowe's 'Electric' Hair Nearly Ruined Iconic Gladiator Speech

Russell Crowe has revealed that his iconic speech in Gladiator — where his character Maximus Decimus speaks of the vengeance he seeks against Joaquin Phoenix's Emperor Commodus — was almost ruined by static electricity causing his hair to stick up.

Speaking to Empire magazine, Crowe, 56, said, "That helmet was full of static electricity and every time I took it off the hairs on the top of my head stood up. I tried doing it slowly, I tried doing it fast, but every time two hairs stand up like I'm a f***ing Teletubby."

Crowe — who won the best actor Oscar for his performance in the 2000 epic — has spilled that the unforeseen problem was solved with some camera trickery. He said: "So, [director Ridley Scott] solves it by going into a massive close-up, when I turn to face Commodus — it's just forehead and chin out of frame so you can't see the Teletubby hair wiggling in the wind."

Crowe opened up on how "every single moment of that film was like that — it was on the day, solving problems, constantly asking questions and finding answers".

Crowe's Gladiator co-star Connie Nielsen, who played the role of Lucilla, recently recalled how she was left in "utter shock" after witnessing what Ridley Scott had created with the film, which went on to win the Best Picture Academy Award.

She said: "I think my favourite memory was probably arriving at the fort in Malta. [Ridley Scott] was coming to meet me in the middle of the square, which was the foot of the reproduction of the Colosseum.

"He was just chomping on his cigar, as usual, and sort of grinning, looking absolutely happy in the middle of probably a giant clusterf***, but you wouldn't even know it, and just showing what we were doing while I was obviously in total and utter shock at the gorgeousness of what he and his team had created."— BANG

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