After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.
David Edward Leslie Hemmings (November 18, 1941 – December 3, 2003) was an English film, theatre and television actor as well as a film and television director and producer. He is noted for his role as the photographer in the drama mystery-thriller film Blowup (1966), directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. Early in his career, Hemmings was a boy soprano appearing in operatic roles. In his later acting career, he was known for his distinctive eyebrows and gravelly voice. Description above from the Wikipedia article David Hemmings, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.