Like any art, movies have a magical capacity to impact people on many different levels. You may see a film and not think much of it beyond it being entertaining, but that same work could also very well be the emotional foundation for another individual. I always love reading/hearing about examples of this phenomenon, as it perfectly demonstrates the immense power of cinema, and Russell Crowe recently shared a really beautiful one while giving an speech in Malta and discussing the impressive legacy of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator.
Making a special appearance at the Mediterrane Film Festival this weekend (via Pat Sapertein on X), Crowe shared a story about an experience that he once had with a passionate Gladiator fan. The character Maximus Decimus Meridius will forever be an important part of the actor’s legacy (let’s not forget that the performance won him the Academy Award for Best Actor), but he was nonetheless taken aback when a muscle-bound stranger began crying upon meeting him on a random evening. Said Crowe,
I was leaving a restaurant at nighttime. As I came out in the street, this young man, he saw me, he recognized me and asked me for a photo. So I shook his hand, and he started to cry. And his friends told me later that he’s the head lifeguard of the local beach, and he’s got muscles on muscles, and lots of responsibility and authority, and they’d never seen him like that. And he was crying, so I gave him the old strength-and-honor handshake as well on the forearms. But his crying got more intense, and he couldn’t wipe the tears from his eyes. So I ended up hugging him.
sword-and-sandal epics, Gladiator and all of its beauty and emotional power is available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription.