Commodus

Sure he may remind some of the Roman Emperor Commodus who in 192 renamed Rome “Colony of Commodus,” but Commodus ended up strangled to death by a gladiator.

Empire's four-star review praised other members of the cast as well - Pedro Pascal is "as charismatic as ever" and Joseph Quinn and Fred Hechinger as Roman Emperor twins "rival Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus from the original Gladiator in terms of crazed volatility and also have a distinct whiff of the ultimate mad emperor Caligula".

Following the 2000 original, this sequel centres on Lucius, who we last saw as the young nephew of Joaquin Phoenix's Commodus in the first movie.

“Napoleon” serves as a reunion with Phoenix, who earned his first Oscar nomination on “Gladiator” playing the maniacal, insecure leader Commodus.

One might assume that he saw some of Commodus in Napoleon, both of them emotionally fragile warriors, but it was actually Phoenix’s Oscar-winning role as the Joker that convinced Scott he was right for the part.