Ridley Scott Cast Joaquin Phoenix As Napoleon After Seeing Him As Joker: “This Little Demon Is Napoleon!”

In Ridley Scott’s much-anticipated historical epic, Napoleon, the intricacies of the enigmatic French military leader, Napoleon Bonaparte, take center stage. In a feature with Empire Magazine, Scott sheds light why the film unflinchingly stands apart from the standard hero-worship often found in biographical films.

“I compare him with Alexander The Great. Adolf Hitler. Stalin,” Scott said, acknowledging the darker aspects of Napoleon’s legacy. “At the same time, he was remarkable with his courage, and in his can-do and in his dominance. He was extraordinary.”

Joaquin Phoenix, portraying Napoleon, aimed to steer away from the traditional heroic tropes. “That’s definitely something we wanted to avoid,” Phoenix said. “Speaking for myself, I actively wanted to avoid the conventions of the biopic.” Note: All interviews with actors and writers for Empire Magazine took place prior to the union strikes.

The film’s focus centers on the turbulent relationship between Napoleon and Joséphine de Beauharnais, played by Vanessa Kirby. Scott worked to maintain that focus despite the allure of the grand battle scenes. “It was very hard work because it’s so easy to start talking about battles when I want to talk about Napoleon,” Scott said. “So I kept reining it in, I kept going back to Joséphine.”

Scott added that when he saw Phoenix in Joker, he struck by the uncanny resemblance to the French military leader. “I’m staring at Joaquin and saying, ‘This little demon is Napoleon Bonaparte!’ He looks like him,” Scott said.

Phoenix echoes Scott’s sentiment, emphasizing the complexity of the character and the film itself. “If you want to really understand Napoleon, then you should probably do your own studying and reading,” Phoenix said. “Because if you see this film, it’s this experience told through Ridley’s eyes. It’s just such a complex world. I mean, it’s so… complex. What we were after was something that would capture the feeling of this man.”

Napoleon will premiere in theaters November 22. Apple Studios and Columbia Pictures are behind the project, with the former reaching a deal with Scott in 2021.