Mad MaximusMaximus: all you need to know is in the name itself. Think maximum; at the max; the best there is. Hey, no one is saying that Gladiator is a masterwork of subtlety—they're just saying...

Evil PersonifiedIf Gladiator were Star Wars, Commodus would be the Emperor. If Gladiator took place in the Potterverse, Commodus would be Voldemort. If Gladiator took place in Westeros, Commodus wo...

Here We Are Now, Entertain Us"I am an entertainer," Proximo says to Maximus. And, for most of the film, this is exactly what Proximo is: a cutthroat, Roman-era entertainment mogul. He buys slaves,...

Even she actually doesn't get that much screen time—and when we do see her, her eyes are usually swimming with tears—Lucilla actually plays super-important role in the plot of Gladiator. Thankf...

Marcus Aurelius's only in the film for about half an hour, but his spirit looms over the entire movie. It's clear when we first meet him that he's knocking on death's door. He's old, frail, and he...

If the gladiators are an army (with Maximus as the general, obviously), Juba and Hagen are the two highest-ranking officers. These dudes are Maximus' closest companions among the gladiators, and th...

All hail the benevolent politician: Gracchus' role in Gladiator is to act as the face of the Senate. Sure, there are other senators (Falco and Gaius, for example), but Gracchus seems to be the most...

Cicero is Maximus's most trusted army bro…even though he seems to be more of a personal assistant than a soldier. When we first meet him, he's getting Maximus' armor and weapons ready. The next w...

Gladiator isn't really a movie that lets its characters off the hook, but we think that this movie might be a little too kind to Quintus. After all, he's clearly a very high-ranking officer. When w...