Gladiator: What Happened To Every Historical Character In Real Life

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Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000) is a Roman historical epic, considered to be one of Scott's directorial movie masterpieces. The film stars Russell Crowe as General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is forced into the life of a gladiator after his family is murdered by the Emperor's son, Commodus. The film is based on real historical events, but like any film of this genre, some historical deviation had to occur in order to allow for artistic license.

Gladiator is set in Rome in 180 AD and focuses on the political and military figures of this era. Several historians worked with Scott on the film's production to try to keep things as authentic as possible. However, some of the hired historians disagreed with Scott regarding the extent of changes that were being made, leading to them stepping away from the production or preferring not to be credited. There are several anachronisms throughout Gladiator, especially when it comes to costume design, language, or the landscape of Ancient Rome.

Related: Russell Crowe's Improvised Gladiator Scene Made His Revenge Story Deeper

Gladiator's protagonist Maximus Decimus Meridius isn't a real historical figure but is instead an amalgamation of several people. Many of the other characters are entirely fictionalized. For the characters who are based on real people, their on-screen stories don't exactly follow the events of their real lives. Some people believe that the historical changes were made for the better and are what helped Gladiator become the global success that it is. Others believe Gladiator would be just as good, possibly even better, if it were more historically accurate. Regardless of its historical inaccuracies, Gladiator remains beloved by audiences who are still holding out