When Oliver Reed died of a heart attack at the age of 61, he didn’t complete all of the Gladiator peplum scenes in which he portrayed the freed slave Proximo. To bring the British actor back to life and finish filming, director Ridley Scott then used stunt doubles and digital special effects.
“What we did was modest compared to our other challenges in cinema”John Nelson, visual effects supervisor for five Oscar-winning classics. “What Oliver did was more amazing. He gave an inspiring, moving performance. We just helped him get the job done.“
After a slight modification of the script, Ridley Scott accurately shot two scenes with dubbing and digital special effects to “bring” Oliver Reed to life. The first is one that sees Proximo’s character visiting Maximus (Russell Crowe) in prison, and the second is where he is attacked and killed, allowing the same Maximus to escape.
The financial investment to keep Oliver Reed on the screen and not replace him with another actor was quite colossal. Judge for yourself: for 2 more minutes on screen, Universal Studios really spent… more than 3.2 million dollars!
No one regrets this stretch of the budget: Gladiator, released in cinemas in 2000, was recognized by the public and brought in more than 500 million dollars worldwide.
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Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
