As the Oscar-winning film Gladiator celebrates its 20th anniversary, director Ridley Scott and star Russell Crowe revealed how harrowing it was to act alongside a real tiger in the fight scenes.
The director and cast talked about their experience while filming, and the film's impact on pop culture, in an interview with Variety to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of release. While talking about the historical action drama, Scott and Crowe recalled what it was like to work with real tigers on set.
Scott talked about how real the situation got while on set. "[The tiger was] a big boy from tail to nose, eleven feet. You’ve got two guys on a chain with a ring in the floor to control it," he stated. "Russell said, 'OK, release them' and when Russell would fall back, the tiger would come out of the hole and Russell would roll out of the way and he said, 'F— me, that was close.' And I said, 'We were there as well, Russell. Hey, you were two feet, I was like four feet.'"
Crowe mentioned how beautiful and regal the tigers looked on set and how "you’d love to be able to just pet them and cuddle them," but he knew that dealing with actual wild animals on a film set "comes with inherent risk".
Released in 2000, Gladiator received critical acclaim and grossed over $460 million at the worldwide box office. The historical drama went on to receive 12 Academy Award nominations, winning five, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe. Its success led to a revival of the "swords 'n' sandals" genre.