Maximus Decimus Meridius

Maximus Decimus Meridius from Gladiator

Everything he had--everything he was...wrenched from him with the drop of a rope, the lighting of a match. Everything, gone. Overcome by exhaustion, grief, and fever, Maximus was captured by a band of slave traders, taken to Egypt. The next phase of his life--he hated. Maximus hated everything. Hated to fight, hated that he could not be with his family, hated--to live. But somewhere amidst the sorrow and hate, crept another feeling. Vengeance. Maximus channeled his hate into this new emotion--and focused on Commodus. The man who had murdered his commander, his Ceasar. The man who had stolen the title that had borne the name of Maximus Meridius.
Now, as a new anger surged inside of Maximus, he fought for all he was worth, living for that day. The day that he would plunge something sharp straight into the heart of Commodus.
Sadly, Maximus Decimus Meridius died after defeating Commodus in the Coliseum. Maximus would have survived to become Ceasar had Commodus not secretly stabbed him before the fight. But his strength, and his honor is still in the hearts of anyone who will reach out and accept this heroic Gladiator's final challenge.
More details here.
In reality, Maximus Decimus Meridius was a true character. He lived from AD 152 to AD 187, dying at forty. His heroism was hailed all over the Roman world. His strength was recognized by all, as was his dream. His dream that someone with honor would restore Rome to the glorious kingdom it once was, a kingdom of democracy. With the Roman mob cheering the dead hero on, Maximus Decimus Meridius' dying wish was recognized and fulfilled.

Russell Crowe on filiming Gladiator and working with younger counterpart Jauquine Phoenix: "You can do a scene with him, and he can bust you apart. And you're thinking, whoa, this kid is cool. But he'll go, I gotta do that again, it was terrible. And I'm like, whatever, let's do it again mate. Then he does it again, and it's even better! But The Gladiator is a big movie, a one hundred and three million dollar movie. There's lots of stuff going on. And taking a little bit of extra responsibility to make it a smoother journey for other people benefits me in the long term. And I don't change my life, I don't tell people to call me Maximus. I don't, you know, do any of that pretentious sort of stuff. You know, because I work between action and cut. However, you do adjust your life. And you adjust parts of your personality within that character."
Quote thanks to ConstantCrowe--the only site that I could find any quotes on this movie! Thank you.