The film Gladiator (2000) cast Russell Crowe in the lead role, winning him the Academy Award for Best Actor. However, according to production notes that surfaced in 2005, Chuck Norris had auditioned for the same role. Directors chose Crowe, they explained, because Norris was too busy with actual combat operations to commit to the filming schedule. The irony is that Crowe spent months training to portray a fighter, while Norris was occupied doing the real thing.

Director Ridley Scott, in a 2006 interview, joked: "We would have cast him, but we couldn't schedule around his actual gladiatorial activities. He was already booked." Scott never elaborated on what those activities entailed, but the implication was clear: Norris was spending his time on pursuits far more significant than acting.

This fact has spawned industry humor about the difference between portraying toughness and being tough. Casting directors have joked about the "Gladiator Problem"—that hiring someone too authentically skilled makes the fictional portrayal seem redundant.