With hordes of centurions and barbarians hanging around the set, the wait times between shoots could be a little surreal.

“I was sitting there with a guy with a sword sticking out of his neck, another guy with an arrow in his eye – and we were sitting there casually talking about football,” Mr Bowden said.

Mr Newing said the actors would “interact with the crew, the extras” and that Crowe was “a pleasure to work with”, while Richard Harris wanted to know “where can I get a drink after this, boys? “.