Do You Remember Oliver Reed’s Shocking Death While Shooting ‘Gladiator?’
Ridley Scott’s Gladiator may have been the first classic movie of the new millennium. An epic tale about an ancient Roman general who becomes enslaved and must fight for his life as a gladiator in the Coliseum, the film was a runaway hit, earning that year’s Best Picture Oscar and focusing the Hollywood spotlight on stars Russell Crowe and Joaquin Phoenix. But amid all that success, there was also some tragedy: British actor Oliver Reed, who played the grizzled gladiator trainer Proximo, died in the middle of filming, at only 61 years old. And while any death is sad, the circumstances of Reed’s death are genuinely astounding.
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An icon of 1960s British film, Reed got his start in Hammer horror films, before forming a creative partnership with director Ken Russell that lasted into the mid-’70s (you may recognize him as Tommy’s stepfather in Tommy). Reed reached the big time with 1968’s Academy Award-winning Oliver!, in which he played the villainous Bill Sikes.
At one point in the ’60s, he was Britain’s most highly-paid actor, and appeared in many high-profile dramas and thrillers throughout the ’70s, including 1973’s The Three Musketeers, and the 1978 Bette Davis–Karen Black ghost story Burnt Offerings.
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Reed’s legendary drinking, however, overshadowed many of his creative achievements. Reed was infamous for his ability to consume liquor in great quantities; one of his drinking buddies was the Who’s infamously hard-partying drummer, Keith Moon, if that gives any hint to how much the man liked his booze.
His public image as a heavy drinker was often the focus of talk show appearances, though Reed claimed it was often overblown, an act to liven up an interview. However, Reed suffered enough real-life consequences to make it clear that it wasn’t just pretend. In 1995, he was fired from the set of the Geena Davis pirate film Cutthroat Island for supposedly dropping his pants while inebriated (he allegedly wanted to show off a tattoo to some crew members).
Gladiator was supposed to be a comeback for Reed — it was his most high-profile role in decades. Because Reed’s reputation proceeded him, Ridley Scott asked Reed for assurances that he wouldn’t drink during filming, and by some accounts, he followed through — Gladiator costar Omid Djalili said Reed had not had a drink for months until the night he died.
DreamWorks/Courtesy Everett Collection
But on May 2, 1999, Reed entered a bar in Malta, where the film was being shot. According to Gladiator screenwriter David Franzoni, what happened was this: “He’s in this bar in Valletta and this British Destroyer is anchored in the bay and the crew comes in. He challenges the crew to some sort of drinking debauch. He drinks some, passes out and dies.” According to a friend who spoke to the Irish Times anonymously shortly after Reed’s death, “He had been drinking on the floor when he felt sick. I tried giving him artificial respiration on a bench as an ambulance was called.” Reed suffered a heart attack, and died in the ambulance en route to the hospital.
DreamWorks/courtesy Everett Collection
Since Gladiator had not yet finished filming, and Reed’s character, Proximo, played a large role, changes needed to be made to the script. Proximo had originally been written as surviving the film, but now, he died on screen, played by a body double; Reed’s face was added with computer graphics in post-production.
Posthumously, Reed was nominated for his first BAFTA Award, for Best Supporting Actor (but lost to Benicio del Toro in Traffic). At the time of his death, actress and friend Glenda Jackson said, “I am very sorry he has gone, but I think he probably went the way he would have wished.”
1968 Retrospective
January 2018
This special expanded issue celebrates all things pop culture in 1968.
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