but Commodus vomited it up. Yet another attempt on his life had been foiled, but the conspirators did not lose their nerve. They then sent in a wrestler named Narcissus to strangle the 31-year old ...

Commodus (Joaquin Phoenix ... When the poison didn’t work, his wrestling partner Narcissus stepped in—to strangle him. There was no emotional final showdown. Just a humiliating bath-time ...

1. In the initial script, the main character was Narcissus, the real-life man who strangled Commodus to death. While most of the film's characters are real ancient figures, Maximus was fictional.

While Commodus’ reign was short-lived in Gladiator ... He was not killed in the Colosseum, but was instead murdered by a wrestler named Narcissus. That changes the story of the 16 years between ...

Commodus wasn't despised by his people ... they arranged for notorious gladiator Narcissus to strangle him in his dressing room at the Colosseum.