Ridley Scott explains why emperors in his films are all ‘crazy’ – the answer is in their water

Ridley Scott has revealed why the emperors in his films all tend to be a bit unstable – turns out it’s all the lead in their water pipes.

“People forget that all the wealthy, high-end senatorial Roman aristocracy would live on water which was piped through lead pipes and lead tanks,” Scott said to The Hollywood Reporter.

In a new interview, Scott explains that there is a historical reason behind all his emperors being at least a little bit “crazy”.