Joaquin Phoenix tried to quit 'Gladiator'; Russell Crowe called it 'terribly unprofessional': director

Director Ridley Scott shared a heated behind-the-scenes moment from the film "Gladiator."

Scott said Joaquin Phoenix nearly refused to play his villainous role, Commodus, in the 2000 action film.

"He was in his prince’s outfit saying, ‘I can’t do it.’ I said, ‘What?’ the "Gladiator" director told The New York Times. 

RUSSELL CROWE ALMOST QUIT 'GLADIATOR' BECAUSE THE SCRIPT WAS 'ABSOLUTE RUBBISH'

Scott added that Russell Crowe said, "This is terribly unprofessional."

When the director was asked "how do you convince someone to stay" on a movie set, Scott replied, "I can act as a big brother or dad. But I’m quite a friend of Joaquin’s. ‘Gladiator’ was a baptism of fire for both of us in the beginning."

His comments come after Phoenix recently dropped out of a new film by Todd Haynes as it was about to start production. 

Barry Keoghan was cast to play a villain in the upcoming "Gladiator II" movie but quit at the last minute. Scott compared Keoghan and Phoenix.

‘JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX’ STAR JOAQUIN PHOENIX SAYS WEIGHT LOSS FOR SEQUEL WAS ‘SAFE’ BUT ‘COMPLICATED’

"Barry got locked into ‘Saltburn,' Scott said. "I think that’s maybe the best film I’ve seen this year. Anyway, Barry is one of the good ones, the same level as Joaquin Phoenix. … Barry is so complex and actually has it under control. I know he’s a bit of a challenge, but it’s worth it. Like deciding on Joaquin, it’s worth it."

Reps for Scott, Phoenix and Crowe did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

‘GLADIATOR’ STAR RUSSELL CROWE REVEALS HE'S 'JEALOUS' OVER SEQUEL

The sequel will star Paul Mescal, who is playing Lucius, the son of Lucilla (Connie Nielsen) from the original movie who witnessed Crowe’s character Maximus die in the gladiator ring, avenging his family and taking down Commodus (Phoenix), the cruel emperor (also Lucius’ uncle).

Last year, Crowe admitted he almost quit "Gladiator" because he thought the script was "absolute rubbish."

"‘Gladiator's' my 20-something movie. I was confident about my abilities as a leading man. What I wasn’t confident about with ‘Gladiator’ was the world that was surrounding me," he told Vanity Fair at the time. 

"At the core of what we were doing was a great concept, but the script, it was rubbish. Absolute rubbish. And it had all these sort of strange sequences. … One of them was about chariots," he shared. 

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER

While all the storylines were factual, Crowe worried that nothing would resonate with viewers. 

"It's just not gonna ring right to a modern audience. They're gonna go, ‘What the f--- is all this?’" he said.

Although Crowe nearly dropped out of "Gladiator," he previously confessed that the movie changed his life and was "slightly jealous" of the new movie. 

LIKE WHAT YOU’RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS

"The only thing that I really feel about it is slightly jealous. … Because I was a much younger man, obviously, and it was a huge experience in my life," Crowe told Collider at the time. 

"It's something that changed my life, really. It changed the way people regarded me and what I do for a living. … I've been very lucky to be involved in lots of big movies, but the legs on that film are incredible."

"Gladiator" earned 12 Oscar nominations and took home five, including best picture and best actor for Crowe.