"Gladiator" director Ridley Scott recently told The New York Times (via Entertainment Weekly) that Russell Crowe told Joaquin Phoenix he was being "terribly unprofessional" on set when Phoenix was getting cold feet and had to be convinced to stay on the movie.

The Joker star was locked in to play the lead role in Todd Haynes’ untitled gay romance flick but abruptly quit just five days before cameras were to start rolling, per Variety. His decision to exit the film, which reportedly featured explicit sex scenes, left production in “peril,” insiders told the outlet.

Joaquin Phoenix made his breakout performance in 2000’s Gladiator, which earned him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. Nearly 25 years later, director Ridley Scott revealed that Phoenix nearly dropped out of the role of Commodus at the last minute,

Joaquin Phoenix tried quitting “Gladiator” mid-shoot before ... Scott recalled as his reaction. “And Russell [Crowe] said, ‘This is terribly unprofessional.’” Scott didn’t reveal exactly what he said to convince Phoenix to stay in the role ...

Director Ridley Scott reveals Joaquin Phoenix’s cold feet on Gladiator; Russell Crowe calls it ‘unprofessional

Gladiator' was a "baptism of fire for both of us in the beginning," Ridley Scott said of how he and Joaquin Phoenix approached making the 2000 film