The recognised ‘Gladiator’ filmmaker Ridley Scott is thrilled to cast Joaquin Phoenix in his upcoming noteworthy biographical movie, ‘Napoleon.’ Scott mentioned in the Empire how seeing Phoenix as Joker in Todd Philips’ ‘Joker’ prompted him to cast the actor as Napoleon Bonaparte in his forthcoming movie, “I’m staring at Joaquin and saying, ‘This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte,” Scott stated in the magazine. “He looks like him.”
One one hand, Scott further elaborated on the characteristics of Napoleon and his opinion on the role of ‘the troublemaker.’ He commented, “I compare him with Alexander the Great. Adolf Hitler. Stalin. Listen, he’s got a lot of bad shit under his belt. At the same time, he was remarkable with his courage, and in his can-do, and in his dominance. He was extraordinary.” On the other hand, Phoenix was exhilarated by the prospect of working with Scott again, following his earlier role as, ‘Commodus’ in Ridley Scott’s, ‘Gladiator’ in early 2000. Phoenix commented, “The truth is, there was just a very nostalgic idea of working with Ridley again.He’s approached me about other things in the past, but nothing that felt like it would be as demanding for both of us. And so I really liked the idea of jumping into something with Ridley that was going to be that.”
Phoenix further supplemented his statement by mentioning the distinctive role of Napoleon he is going to play. He thereby said, “If you want to really understand Napoleon, then you should probably do your own studying and reading,” Phoenix said. “Because if you see this film, it’s this experience told through Ridley’s eyes. It’s just such a complex world. I mean, it’s so fucking complex. What we were after was something that would capture the feeling of this man.”
Napoleon’s tagline states the film “is an original and personal look at Napoleon’s origins and his swift, ruthless climb to emperor, viewed through the prism of his addictive and often volatile relationship with his wife and one true love, Josephine. The film captures Napoleon’s famous battles, relentless ambition, and astounding strategic mind as an extraordinary military leader and war visionary.”
