Joaquin Phoenix “didn’t know what to do” just two weeks before shooting ‘Napoleon’
Over two decades after their collaboration on the iconic Gladiator, director Ridley Scott and actor Joaquin Phoenix unite for another historical epic in Napoleon. Scott has now revealed that Phoenix came to him and said, “I don’t know what to do”, just two weeks before they were set to begin filming.
The historical drama will star Phoenix as the title character, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Vanessa Kirby as Empress Joséphine. It will follow the relationship between the two and Napoleon’s rise to power. The trailer is out now.
Sharing his experience of working with Phoenix again, Scott told Empire: “He’ll come in, and you’re fucking two weeks out, and he’ll say, ‘I don’t know what to do’, I’ll say, ‘What?!’ ‘I don’t know what to do.’ Oh god, I said, ‘Come in, sit down.'”
Scott spent ten full days talking his lead actor through the script, scene by scene: “In a sense, we rehearsed. Absolutely detail by detail.”
Despite Phoenix’s last-minute nerves towards the shoot, the actor spoke about his excitement about reuniting with the filmmaker, sharing: “The truth is, there was just a very nostalgic idea of working with Ridley again. I had such an incredible experience working with Ridley on Gladiator, and I was so young. It was my first big production. I really yearned for that experience again, or something similar.”
When Scott approached Phoenix with Napoleon, he found the demanding nature of the film appealing: “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.”
Napoleon will hit cinemas on Wednesday, November 22nd. Following its theatrical release, the film will also be streaming on Apple TV+, though a date for this is yet to be confirmed.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.