The actor famed for roles in If… and A Clockwork Orange had high hopes when he originally signed up for Caligula, a portrait of the Roman Emperor scripted ... mix of art and genitals”.

To prevent reprisals, they also killed his wife and daughter. Dead but certainly not mourned, Caligula was succeeded by his uncle, Claudius, the most unlikely of emperors.

Born Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus in A.D. 12, Caligula rose to power in A.D. 37 as the third Roman emperor. Nicknamed “Caligula,” meaning “little boots,” after the miniature soldier ...