The Poster Memorabilia blog

Gladiator is My Roman Empire

Eleven years, six signatures, and one Roman Empire finally conquered.

By an anonymous Hollywood insider

Whoever made up the meme that guys think about the Roman Empire all the time was right, because I do. More specifically, what I always think about is the 2000 Ridley Scott masterpiece, Gladiator. It's always in my mind, morning, noon, and night. And at some point, I had to do something about it.

That something was to get the cast's autographs. I acquired a copy of the movie poster and sought the cast to sign it. My job gives me a lot of free time, and I made good use of it chasing down these celebrities. It took me a long while, but I finally got all the autographs I wanted.

My first target was Maximus himself, Russell Crowe. Since he was the lead and arguably the most famous star in the cast, he was the easiest to get to. He starred in several films since, so all I had to do was go to one of those movie premieres to get his autograph.

I finally got to it at the New York City premiere of Man of Steel in 2013. There he was, smiling widely for the cameras beside Henry Cavill and Amy Adams. He seemed to be having a great time because he looked pretty jolly all night. It was the perfect moment to ask him to sign my Gladiator poster, which he did happily.

Connie Nielsen was surprisingly easy to track down, too. The Danish actress enjoyed a prolific TV career throughout the 2010s, so I eventually met her in 2017 on one of her many press tours. The title of that show escapes me right now, but what I do remember is that she has stayed beautiful after all these years. I couldn't help but stare at her face as she signed my poster.

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Luck was on my side in 2018 because I met two of the movie's most famous cast members that year. The first was Joaquin Phoenix at the premiere of his film, Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot, at that year's Sundance Film Festival.

I know he has a reputation as an intense method actor, but I found him very pleasant when I asked for his autograph. He wasn't even annoyed that I brought a different poster from the movie he was promoting.

The second was Djimon Hounsou, when he appeared at the premiere of Aquaman in LA. I found him the best-looking among the cast members I met. He barely looked different from the movie, and it had already been 18 years at that point. I know they say “black don't crack,” and Djimon Hounsou embodies it to a T!

“Speaking of genius, I finally got to meet the legendary Ridley Scott.”

A year later, I met the modern-day maestro himself, Hans Zimmer. It was at the world premiere of the live-action remake of The Lion King in LA, and he appeared wearing a Lion King shirt under his jacket. It was a funky outfit I never would've thought a man of his caliber would wear, but there he was.

To my surprise, Zimmer was very down-to-earth. I always thought he was going to be snooty to us ordinary folks, and I wouldn't have been too sore about it because, well, the guy's a genius!

Speaking of genius, I finally got to meet the legendary Ridley Scott at the premiere of Gladiator II in 2024. I felt a little intimidated meeting the man behind my favorite movie, but I held together and got his autograph. It was one of the proudest moments of my life, and it couldn't have been more fitting that I completed these autographs at the premiere of the film's sequel.

I still think about Gladiator all the time, especially with this autographed poster I spent years getting. It was time well spent, and I'll always be proud of it for the rest of my life.

Some things you watch. This one you keep.

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