Proximo (Oliver Reed)’s Timeline and Summary
- Proximo's first encountered while drinking a beverage in a cafe in Africa. Another man tells him about a new crop of slaves.
- Proximo gets a good deal on the slaves, takes them home, and tells them that he plans to profit from their death.
- He watches Maximus refuse to train with the others, and ultimately tells Hagen to stop hitting him.
- When his gladiators win their first battle, Proximo's impressed, fully convinced that they wouldn't.
- Some time later, Proximo calls Maximus into his chambers, and tells him that even though he's a good fighter, he's not that good. He could be magnificent.
- They're going to Rome, and that will be his chance to be a famous champion. He narrates his encounter with Marcus Aurelius, and reveals that he too was once a gladiator.
- Proximo pays homage to a statute of Marcus Aurelius in Rome, before reminding Maximus again to "win the crowd." That, as he mentioned earlier, is the key to Maximus' freedom.
- He's really annoyed shortly before the first gladiatorial combat in Rome because he thinks his men are being set up to get slaughtered. He wants double the rates, and Cassius shuts him down.
- Proximo escorts Maximus to a meeting with Lucilla.
- After Maximus tells him of his plan to reunite with his army, storm Rome, and kill Commodus (this happens off screen), Proximo tells him it won't work. He's an entertainer, and he knows Maximus is honorable, but he won't help him escape.
- Proximo lets Maximus out of his cell. Apparently he's changed his mind about helping him escape.
- He refuses to let the praetorians in. The next we see of him, he's holding the sword given to him by Marcus Aurelius. The praetorians enter, and he still has his back to them. He exclaims, "Shadows and dust" before they all literally stab him in the back.