Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964 in Wellington) is an Oscar-winning actor from New Zealand and Australianote , although he frequently plays Fake Americans.
Among his more famous starring roles were in Gladiator (as an Ancient Roman general/gladiator; Oscar winner), A Beautiful Mind (as a brilliant yet troubled mathematician; Oscar nominated), and The Insider (as a corporate whistleblower; Oscar nominated). As a musician he was formerly in the line up of a band called "30 Odd Foot of Grunts", and co-wrote a song with Alan Doyle for Doyle's band Great Big Sea, "The Company of Fools". He was also cast as Jor-El in Man of Steel, Zack Snyder's reboot of the Superman films, and as Javert in the film adaptation of the musical Les Misérables (2012).
Due to his involvement in several highly publicized brawls, he has gained a reputation for his temper. The American Secret Service protected Crowe for a time when Al Qaeda allegedly threatened his life as some sort of destabilization plan that involved eliminating iconic Americans (despite not being American...).
Selected filmography:
- Proof (1991) as Andy
- Romper Stomper (1992) as Hando
- The Quick and the Dead (1995) as Cort
- Virtuosity (1995) as SID 6.7
- L.A. Confidential (1997) as Officer Wendell "Bud" White
- The Insider (1999) as Jeffrey Wigand - Academy Award nominee for Best Actor
- Mystery, Alaska (1999) as Sheriff John Biebe
- Gladiator (2000) as Maximus Decimus Meridius - Academy Award winner for Best Actor
- Proof of Life (2000) as Terry Thorne
- A Beautiful Mind (2001) as John Forbes Nash - Academy Award nominee for Best Actor
- Master and Commander (2003) as Captain Jack Aubrey
- Cinderella Man (2005) as Jim Braddock
- A Good Year (2006) as Max Skinner
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007) as Ben Wade
- American Gangster (2007) Detective Richie Roberts
- Body of Lies (2008) as Ed Hoffman
- State of Play (2009) as Cal McAffrey
- Tenderness (2009) as Detective Cristofuoro
- Robin Hood (2010) as Robin Hood
- The Next Three Days (2010) as John Brennan
- The Man with the Iron Fists (2012) as Jackknife
- Les Misérables (2012) as Inspector Javert
- Republic of Doyle (2012) as Boyd Kelley
- DC Extended Universe as Jor-El:
- Man of Steel (2013)
- Zack Snyder's Justice League (2021, voice only)
- Winter's Tale (2014) as Pearly Soames / Demon
- Noah (2014) as Noah
- The Water Diviner (2014) as Joshua Connor - also his directorial debut
- The Nice Guys (2016) as Jackson Healy
- The Mummy (2017) as Dr. Henry Jekyll
- Boy Erased (2018) as Marshall Eamons
- Unhinged (2020) as Tom Cooper
- Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) as Zeus
- The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) as Arthur Coates
- The Pope's Exorcist (2023) as Gabriele Amorth
- Kraven the Hunter (2024)
Tropes associated with Crowe's work:
- Fake American: Many of his famous roles and the bulk of his performances since L.A. Confidential.
- Genius Bruiser: His characters tend to be tough and fearsome but that doesn't mean they're stupid by any means, Bud White being a notable examples of the two aspects.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: He's famous for his short temper and multiple arrests for fights though he's calmed down considerably since becoming a father and hasn't had any incidents since his arrest in 2005.
- Production Posse: Since Gladiator, he has regularly worked with Ridley Scott (five movies so far).
- Promoted Fanboy: He once had a song entitled "I Just Want To Be Like Marlon Brando" and went on to play Brando's role as Jor-El in Man of Steel.
- Romance on the Set:
- He had an affair with Meg Ryan back in 2000 when they met working on Proof of Life together. She was married to Dennis Quaid at the time.
- He also met his future wife, Danielle Spencer, while filming an Australian film entitled The Crossing in 1990. They only tied the knot in 2003.
- So My Kids Can Watch: In an interview
, one of the reasons why Russell took the role of Jor-El in Man of Steel is that he wants his two sons to see him as a father figure in a movie catered to their age group. - Those Two Actors: With Jennifer Connelly in three films (A Beautiful Mind, Winter's Tale and Noah).
- What Could Have Been:
- Was offered to take the role of Aragorn for The Lord of the Rings but turned it down due to scheduling conflicts with A Beautiful Mind.
- He was also offered to play Wolverine for the first X-Men movie, but instead he offered it to his close friend, Hugh Jackman, who was not very well known at that time.
- Ridley Scott offered him to take the role of Sgt. Norm 'Hoot' Hooten in Black Hawk Down but it was turned down due to scheduling conflicts.
