How Joaquin Phoenix improvised an iconic line of gladiators

Among his other qualities, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator provided a line for the ages. As it turned out, it wasn’t planned.

Joaquin Phoenix was best known as the villain long before his groundbreaking Oscar win for Joker. Twenty years earlier, he received another Oscar nomination for an equally psychotic figure: Emperor Commodus in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator. While he didn’t quite steal the show from star Russell Crowe, he turned out to be more than capable of sharing the screen with him. In fact, he probably owns the most iconic line in the film.

As it turned out, it wasn’t in the script. Phoenix himself improvised it on set to bring out the rotten core of the character. It also helped solidify the character in public memory, as did every line of Joker. Given the director and the movie’s reputation – not to mention the actor’s later work as the Clown Prince of Crime – that says a lot.

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Gladiator Joaquin Phoenix Header

The line reads, “Am I not merciful?” and frankly, it’s as crazy as anything the joker said in any context. After his enemy has been captured and his rule apparently consolidated, Commodus is delighted with his sister Lucilla about the power he now has. He wonders whether to adopt her son (his nephew) as his own and force her to witness any moment without saying anything so that he doesn’t kill the boy on the spot. He promises to do the same if she takes her own life or if he displeases him in any way. That goes as far as an incestuous marriage with him as queen. He calls this fate “grace” instead of simply carrying it out.

More than the lines, it is the performance that captures the horror show of his proposal. Most of the speech is delivered in conversation, in what appears to be a pleasant and even tone of voice. It is the talk of a man who casually ponders terrible things about what he would like to eat for dinner. Only at the end does he scream the line, inches from her face while she thinks about the hell he has prepared for her.

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It is the speech of a man who holds absolute power and has been completely consumed by it. As Emperor of Rome, he can define the terms of any social interaction, and society around him will. If he calls it mercy – no matter how terrible it is – no one will be able to refute it. Phoenix uses the rhythm of the delivery to demonstrate the monstrosity. In doing so, he finds a sliver of the same narcissistic darkness that he later showed as the Joker.

And the line wasn’t planned. According to the IMDb, the Phoenix speech should end with another conversation: “Am I not merciful?” Instead, he yells it to Lucilla a second time. The suddenness is shocking and completely surprised Nielsen. Your unwritten reaction is part of what made the line so memorable.

It’s doubly noteworthy for director Ridley Scott’s meticulous attention to detail. Gladiator’s script went through a number of revisions during production, with particular emphasis on the dialogues that Crowe felt could be improved. Ad-libs became more normal during production, and the best of them found their way into the movie. Given the inclinations of the director, he must have felt something decisive in Phoenix’s moment, because he let it stay and made film history in the process.

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About the author

Robert Vaux
(526 published articles)

Born in California, Rob Vaux has been a critic and entertainment writer for over 20 years, including for Collider, Mania.com, the Sci-Fi Movie Page and Rotten Tomatoes. He lives in the Los Angeles area, has roots with the Angels, and is old enough to remember when Splinter of the Mind’s Eye was a big deal.

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