Russell Ira Crowe (born April 7, 1964 in Wellington, New Zealand) is an Oscar-winning actor from New Zealand/Australia, 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).
After several highly publicized fights he has gained a reputation for his temper. He once headbutted the actor Peter Cousens and threw a telephone at a hotel concierge. 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:
- Romper Stomper (1992)
- The Quick and the Dead (1995)
- Virtuosity (1995)
- L.A. Confidential (1997)
- The Insider (1999) - Academy Award nominee for Best Actor
- Gladiator (2000) - Academy Award winner for Best Actor
- A Beautiful Mind (2001) - Academy Award nominee for Best Actor
- Master and Commander (2003)
- Cinderella Man (2005)
- A Good Year (2006)
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
- American Gangster (2007)
- Body of Lies (2008)
- State of Play (2009)
- Robin Hood (2010)
- The Next Three Days (2010)
- The Man with the Iron Fists (2012)
- Les Misérables (2012)
- Broken City (2012)
- Man of Steel (2013)
- Winters Tale (2014)
- Noah (2014)
- The Water Diviner (2014) - also his directorial debut
- The Nice Guys (2016)
- The Mummy (2017)
- Boy Erased (2018)
Tropes associated with Crowe's work:
- But Not Too White: He has Māori ancestry.
- Fake American: Many of his famous roles.
- Fake Brit: His characters in A Good Year, Master and Commander, and Robin Hood are all British.
- Production Posse: Ever since Gladiator, he's been working with Ridley Scott in 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 a movie 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. 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.
