Kyle Sandilands played out his Gladiator fantasies in South Australia on Thursday while filming an episode of Australian Idol.
The KIIS FM radio star, 52, channeled his inner Russell Crowe, who starred in the 2000 Ridley Scott film, when he visited a wheat field.
Accompanied by a film crew, the shock jock recreated the iconic scene of character Maximus, played by Hollywood star Russell, 59, running his hand through wheat.
“Hey Russell, this is for you, brother,” Kyle said before bending down to run his fingers through the wheat as a cameraman captured a close-up on film.
Surrounded by nothing but plains and farmland, the media personality boasted: “Some would argue I’ve actually done better. Some. Not you. You wouldn’t say that.’
Kyle Sandilands, 52, (left) played out his Gladiator fantasies in South Australia on Thursday while filming an episode of Australian Idol
The close-up clip of Maximus’ hand walking through a wheat field was a recurring motif in the epic historical drama film.
Ridley, 86, the film’s director, recently said this Deadline the memorable scene “became the catalyst for immortality, or heaven” leading up to Maximus’ death.
Despite the fame of the image, the filmmaker confessed that it was not even Russell’s hand that he filmed in the wheat field, as the actor was not in Italy at the time.
The KIIS FM radio star channeled his inner Russell Crowe, 59, (pictured in Gladiator), who rose to fame for his starring role in the 2000 Ridley Scott film, when he visited a wheat field
Filmed in Tuscany as the final scene of principal photography, it was actually the hand of Russell’s body, filmed in double as he ran through the wheat.
‘The man was standing there in this field, smoking. I’m going, getting out of the field, are you kidding me? It was the middle of summer and dry,” Ridley explained.
‘He goes, “Oh, sorry man.” He walked out of the field and did so by hand. I said, ‘Stop right there. Get the Steadicam.”
Accompanied by a film crew, the shock jock recreated the iconic scene of character Maximus, played by Hollywood star Russell running his hand through wheat.
Gladiator was both a commercial ($503 million worldwide) and a critical hit, winning five Oscars, including one for Russell as Best Actor and one for Best Picture.
After more than two decades of talking about a sequel, Ridley has finally returned to direct Gladiator 2, starring Paul Mescal as the lead actor.
Russel confirmed on The Ryan Tubridy Show in March last year that he will no longer be working on the sequel, but wishes 27-year-old Paul ‘good luck’.
Paul plays the cousin of Commodus, the emperor who murdered Maximus’ family in the first film, played by Joaquin Phoenix.