11. Oliver Reed, who played Proximo, died during a break from filming after suffering a heart attack. Production ultimately used CGI and body doubles to complete his remaining scenes and changed his character’s fate; in the original script, Proximo lived, while he ultimately died in the final version of the film.
12. Crowe was unhappy with the script throughout filming, often refusing to say lines, including, “I will have vengeance, in this life or the next.”
Screenwriter William Nicholson confirmed rumors of tension on set, telling the Daily Mail, describing one conversation the pair had.
‘”Your lines are garbage, but I’m the greatest actor in the world and I can make even garbage sound good,'” Crowe reportedly told Nicholson, who said, “And the funny thing is that it’s true. OK, the lines weren’t garbage and he was a bit aggressive, but he is a great actor, so his occasional fits of arrogance didn’t bother me at all.”
