Russell Crowe Says Highlander Lets Him Do What Ridley Scott Blocked in Gladiator

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Russell Crowe is enjoying his work on the new Highlander movie, and it seems he’s now able to explore an acting idea that director Ridley Scott previously rejected.

I recently read an interview with Russell Crowe on 60 Minutes Australia, and it was fascinating! He mentioned that getting to play Ramirez in Highlander finally let him use a Spanish accent – something director Ridley Scott wouldn’t allow him to do when they were making Gladiator. Apparently, Scott was very particular about how everyone sounded in that film!

Crowe Finally Gets His “Spaniard” Accent

Crowe made a playful comment about the 1986 movie, pointing out the amusing contrast in Sean Connery’s portrayal of Ramirez. The character was written as having Egyptian and Spanish roots, but Connery delivered all his lines with his distinct Scottish accent.

According to a 60 Minutes Australia interview, the character Ramirez was played by Sean with a Scottish accent. When asked about this, the explanation given was that Ramirez had previously lived in Egypt, which accounted for the accent despite being a Spaniard.

I always loved how Sean Connery never really did accents. It didn’t matter if he was playing someone Russian, Irish, or Moroccan – he always sounded distinctly like himself, and honestly, that was part of his charm! He just brought Sean Connery to every role.

Crowe remembered asking Scott, during the initial rehearsals for Gladiator, if he could imitate Antonio Banderas’s speech, but with clearer pronunciation, as Maximus’s character was Spanish.

Ridley Scott’s response? “There’s no f***ing way that you’re doing that.”

Crowe described the accent they chose as sounding like someone from the Royal Shakespeare Company after having a couple of beers with lunch.

Stahelski Gives Him the Green Light

Crowe revealed he told this story to Highlander director Chad Stahelski — who embraced the idea.

The actor stated, ‘If someone offers me a Spanish-speaking role, I’ll accept it.’ He plans to portray the character Ramirez as Spanish and is waiting to see how that comes together.

This revival might finally explain the long-running mystery of why the character nicknamed “the Spaniard” sounded so much like Sean Connery imitating… Sean Connery.

The Highlander Reboot

Crowe stars as Ramirez opposite Henry Cavill as Connor MacLeod.

The film will star Dave Bautista as Kurgan, alongside Karen Gillan, Marisa Abela, Jeremy Irons, Djimon Hounsou, Max Zhang, and WWE’s Drew McIntyre. Filming has been pushed back to early 2026 to allow Henry Cavill to recover from an ankle injury.

No release date has been set.

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2025-11-05 21:01