 Vidal first made the claim in an interview in the 1995 documentary film "The Celluloid Closet", and asserted that he persuaded Wyler to direct Stephen Boyd to play the role as if he were a spurned homosexual lover.Vidal said that he believed that Messala's vindictiveness could only be motivated by the feeling of rejection that a lover would feel, and suggested to Wyler that Stephen Boyd should play the role that way, and that Heston be kept in the dark about the Messala character's motivations.Vidal further claimed that Wyler took his advice.