#MarketPullback 🎭 In 1999, during the shooting of the film Gladiator (Gladiator, 2000) on the island of Malta, the British actor Oliver Reed — famous for his talent but also for his wild lifestyle — decided to treat himself to a night of fun.

He was in a pub in Valletta, where he accepted a drinking challenge from a group of Royal Navy sailors.

According to reports, Reed drank eight pints of beer, twelve double rums, and fourteen whiskies in just one night — an impressive amount even for someone like him, who was known for his alcohol tolerance.

After the drinking “contest” and some arm wrestling with the sailors, Reed suddenly felt unwell. He suffered a fatal heart attack right there in the pub and died shortly after, at just 61 years old.

The bar where the incident took place still keeps his last unpaid receipt as a sort of relic, and has changed its name to "Ollie's Last Pub" in his honor.

His death was a severe blow to the production of Gladiator. Reed had already filmed most of his scenes, playing the role of Proximo, the former gladiator turned slave trainer.

However, to complete the film, it was necessary to digitally recreate his face with CGI, a technique that was still pioneering at the time, and modify some scenes.

This unforeseen event increased the production budget by about 3 million dollars, a considerable amount for that time.

Despite the tragedy, the final result was astonishing: the work of the special effects was so well done that many viewers did not notice the substitution.

At the end of the film, Ridley Scott decided to dedicate Gladiator to the memory of Oliver Reed, with a touching note in the credits:

“To Oliver Reed, our friend, who we miss very much.”

His last performance remains one of his most beloved roles, forever enshrining him in cinema history as an icon of talent and intensity, both in life and on screen.