Quintus Arrius (Ben-Hur) Ray Winstone. In the 2016 film Arrius was played by James Cosmo. Arrius has a much smaller role in this adaptation. He shows little regard for Judah in the galley, and is killed in the naval battle. Quintus Arrius (Ben-Hur) Quintus Arrius is a fictional character from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel "". He is a Roman warship commander whom Judah Ben-Hur saves from drowning. After they are rescued, Arrius is informed that his fleet won the battle, and is lauded for his victory. Arrius subsequently adopts Judah as his son, making him a freedman, a Roman citizen, and Arrius’s heir.
Messala (Ben-Hur) Balthasar) murders him upon learning the true nature of the Romans. In the 1899 Broadway play. Messala was portrayed by William S. Hart who went on to greater fame starring in western movies. In the Messala was portrayed by Francis X. Bushman as an ambitious and ruthless Roman who ceased to care for Ben-Hur long before being reunited with him. In the 1959 film Messala was portrayed by Stephen Boyd. In contrast with the book, there is a confrontation between Ben-Hur and Messala when Messala asks him to identify rebels. Messala dies in the chariot race - when his attempt