The 2000 historical epic film starring Russell Crowe and set in ancient Rome is Gladiator. Russell Crowe plays Maximus Decimus Meridius, a Roman general betrayed after Emperor Marcus Aurelius is murdered by his son Commodus.
Forced into slavery, Maximus becomes a gladiator and eventually fights in Rome’s Colosseum. His arena career gives him a path toward revenge and resistance against Commodus. Ridley Scott directed the film, which also stars Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed, and Richard Harris.
Gladiator is inspired partly by Daniel P. Mannix’s 1958 novel Those About to Die, but its central political and personal story is fictionalized. The film is often remembered as a straightforward account of Roman history, although several characters and events—including Maximus—are fictional or heavily dramatized. It won five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Actor for Crowe.