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Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe

Overview
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian
New Zealanders in Australia
New Zealanders in Australia consist of Australian people who have origins in New Zealand, as well as New Zealand migrants and expatriates based in Australia. Migration from New Zealand to Australia is a very common phenomenon, given Australia's close proximity as a neighboring country...

 actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...

, directed by Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...

, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

, a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young...

, an Empire Award for Best Actor
Empire Award for Best Actor
The Empire Award for Best Actor is one of the Empire Awards presented annually by Empire magazine to actors working in the motion picture industry. The Empire Award for Best Actor is one of six ongoing awards that have been handed out since the establishment of the Empire Awards in 1996...

 and a London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
The London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year in an annual award given by the London Film Critics Circle.-2000s:-2010s:...

 and ten further nominations for Best Actor. Crowe appeared as the tobacco firm whistle blower Jeffrey Wigand
Jeffrey Wigand
Jeffrey S. Wigand is a former vice president of research and development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville, Kentucky, who worked on the development of reduced-harm cigarettes...

 in 1999 film The Insider
The Insider
An insider is a member of a group of people of limited number and with restricted access.The Insider may refer to:-Film media:*The Insider , a 1999 film drama about a 60 Minutes exposé of the tobacco industry, by director Michael Mann*"The Insider" , a 2002 episode of the American television crime...

, for which he received five awards as Best Actor and seven nominations in the same category. In 2001, Crowe's portrayal of mathematician and nobel prize winner John F. Nash in the biopic A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind may refer to:*A Beautiful Mind , about the life of John Forbes Nash, Jr.**A Beautiful Mind , the film adaptation of the same title***A Beautiful Mind , the associated soundtrack album-See also:...

 brought him numerous awards, including an BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...

, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor category Motion Picture Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...

 and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. Crowe's other films include L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...

 (1997), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...

 (2003) Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...

 (2005), American Gangster (2007), 3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma is a 1957 American western film starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin and directed by Delmer Daves. The film was based on the short story by Elmore Leonard. The film was well received on release and is still highly regarded today. A remake of the film starring Russell Crowe and Christian...

 (2007) and Robin Hood
Robin Hood (2010 film)
Robin Hood is a 2010 British/American adventure film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett...

 (2010). Crowe's work has earned him several accolades, including a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

, three Academy Award nominations in a row (1999 – 2001), one Golden Globe Award for Best Actor , one BAFTA, and an Academy Award. Due to his success and character variety, critics have often called him a “virtuoso” actor. He is also co-owner of South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...

, an Australian National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...

 team.
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Quotations

Some things just come without any real understanding. I don't bother to question it or myself anymore. If you get into a situation like L.A. Confidential (film)|L.A. Confidential, where you can just totally get inside the character, that's a privileged position. Now that I'm more aware of the process I realize it's the position you always want to aim for.

Interview with Paula Nechak (1997)

People accuse me of being arrogant all the time. I'm not arrogant, I'm focused. I don't make demands. I don't tell you how it should be. I'll give you fucking options, and it's up to you to select or throw 'em away. That should be the headline: If you're insecure, don't fucking call.

Los Angeles Times (October 31,1999)

I'd move to Los Angeles if New Zealand and Australia were swallowed up by a tidal wave, if there was a bubonic plague in England and if the continent of Africa disappeared from some Martian attack.

New York Daily News (2000)

I'm fundamentally quite shy, so that thing of taking on another character is quite a liberating thing to do if you're a shy person, because within that character framework you can now go to all these other places. [pauses] And I never found another job that I was actually that good at.

If it's not going to be that serious, I don't want to do it. It's a personal taste. I don't like watching an actor have the same fucking hairdo from time period to time period, from character to character— I just think it's bullshit. It's a waste of money and a waste of my time as an audience member.

I'm the sort of bloke that will have stand-up arguments with producers, saying, "Look, mate, I know you're product-placing that fucking thing' If I can see it, I'm just not going to allow it to happen... You lose all of your integrity as soon as you cross over into that sort of crass commercialism.

It was a 100 percent fucking home run, except the central character of William Shakespeare was not a fucking writer— he was not smelly enough, he was not unshaven enough, and obviously hadn't had enough to drink. He was some prissy pretty boy. What the fuck? That's so disrespectful.

On Shakespeare In Love, in which he had desired to play the role of Shakespeare.
Encyclopedia
Russell Ira Crowe is a New Zealander Australian
New Zealanders in Australia
New Zealanders in Australia consist of Australian people who have origins in New Zealand, as well as New Zealand migrants and expatriates based in Australia. Migration from New Zealand to Australia is a very common phenomenon, given Australia's close proximity as a neighboring country...

 actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...

, directed by Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...

, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

, a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young...

, an Empire Award for Best Actor
Empire Award for Best Actor
The Empire Award for Best Actor is one of the Empire Awards presented annually by Empire magazine to actors working in the motion picture industry. The Empire Award for Best Actor is one of six ongoing awards that have been handed out since the establishment of the Empire Awards in 1996...

 and a London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
The London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year in an annual award given by the London Film Critics Circle.-2000s:-2010s:...

 and ten further nominations for Best Actor. Crowe appeared as the tobacco firm whistle blower Jeffrey Wigand
Jeffrey Wigand
Jeffrey S. Wigand is a former vice president of research and development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville, Kentucky, who worked on the development of reduced-harm cigarettes...

 in 1999 film The Insider
The Insider
An insider is a member of a group of people of limited number and with restricted access.The Insider may refer to:-Film media:*The Insider , a 1999 film drama about a 60 Minutes exposé of the tobacco industry, by director Michael Mann*"The Insider" , a 2002 episode of the American television crime...

, for which he received five awards as Best Actor and seven nominations in the same category. In 2001, Crowe's portrayal of mathematician and nobel prize winner John F. Nash in the biopic A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind may refer to:*A Beautiful Mind , about the life of John Forbes Nash, Jr.**A Beautiful Mind , the film adaptation of the same title***A Beautiful Mind , the associated soundtrack album-See also:...

 brought him numerous awards, including an BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...

, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor category Motion Picture Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...

 and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. Crowe's other films include L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...

 (1997), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...

 (2003) Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...

 (2005), American Gangster (2007), 3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma is a 1957 American western film starring Glenn Ford and Van Heflin and directed by Delmer Daves. The film was based on the short story by Elmore Leonard. The film was well received on release and is still highly regarded today. A remake of the film starring Russell Crowe and Christian...

 (2007) and Robin Hood
Robin Hood (2010 film)
Robin Hood is a 2010 British/American adventure film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett...

 (2010). Crowe's work has earned him several accolades, including a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Hollywood Walk of Fame
The Hollywood Walk of Fame consists of more than 2,400 five-pointed terrazzo and brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along fifteen blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in Hollywood, California...

, three Academy Award nominations in a row (1999 – 2001), one Golden Globe Award for Best Actor , one BAFTA, and an Academy Award. Due to his success and character variety, critics have often called him a “virtuoso” actor. He is also co-owner of South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...

, an Australian National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...

 team.

Early life


Crowe was born on 7 April 1964 in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of Jocelyn Yvonne (née Wemyss) and John Alexander Crowe, both of whom were movie set caterers; his father also managed a hotel. Crowe's maternal grandfather, Stan Wemyss, was a cinematographer who was named an MBE for filming footage of World War II. Crowe's maternal great-great-grandmother was Māori, and his paternal grandfather was from Wrexham
Wrexham
Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...

, Wales; Crowe also has Scottish, Norwegian, English, and German ancestry. His cousins, Martin
Martin Crowe
Martin David Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985, and was credited as one of the "best young batsmen in the world". Crowe represented New Zealand from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1996 as a right-handed batsman...

 and Jeff Crowe
Jeff Crowe
Jeffrey John Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He is the son of Dave Crowe and elder brother of Martin Crowe. They are cousins of Oscar winning actor, Russell Crowe....

, are former New Zealand cricket captains
New Zealand national cricket captains
This is a complete list of all of New Zealand's national cricket captains at official international level. As such it includes details of all the men who have captained at least one Test match or One Day International, all boys who have captained in at least one Youth Test or Youth ODI, and all...

.

When Crowe was four years old, his family moved to Australia, where his parents pursued a career in film set catering. The producer of the Australian TV series Spyforce
Spyforce
Spyforce was an Australian TV series produced from 1971 to 1973, based upon the adventures of Australian Military Intelligence operatives in the South West Pacific during World War II...

was his mother's godfather, and Crowe at age five or six was hired for a line of dialogue in one episode, opposite series star Jack Thompson
Jack Thompson (actor)
Jack Thompson, AM is an Australian actor and one of the major figures of Australian cinema. He was educated at University of Queensland, before embarking on his acting career. In 2002, he was made an honorary member of the Australian Cinematographers Society...

 (in 1994 Thompson played Crowe's father in The Sum of Us
The Sum of Us
The Sum of Us is a play by David Stevens.The plot revolves around the comfortable relationship between widower Harry and his gay son Jeff and their individual searches for the right mate. Harry unconditionally loves his Rugby-playing son, and even takes an active part in Jeff's search for Mr. Right...

). Crowe also appeared briefly in serial The Young Doctors
The Young Doctors
The Young Doctors is an Australian early evening soap opera. The series was set in the fictional Albert Memorial hospital and primarily concerned with romances between younger members of the hospital staff, screened on the Nine Network from Monday, 8 November 1976 until Wednesday, 30 March...

.

He was educated at the Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School
Sydney Boys High School is an academically selective public secondary school for boys, located in the City of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, with 1,180 students, from years 7 to 12...

. When he was fourteen, Crowe's family moved back to New Zealand, where he (along with his brother Terry) attended Auckland Grammar School
Auckland Grammar School
Auckland Grammar School is a state secondary school for years 9 to 13 boys in Auckland, New Zealand. It had a roll of 2,483 in 2008, including a number of boarders who live in nearby Tibbs' House, making it one of the largest schools in New Zealand...

 with cousins Martin Crowe
Martin Crowe
Martin David Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985, and was credited as one of the "best young batsmen in the world". Crowe represented New Zealand from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1996 as a right-handed batsman...

 and Jeff Crowe
Jeff Crowe
Jeffrey John Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He is the son of Dave Crowe and elder brother of Martin Crowe. They are cousins of Oscar winning actor, Russell Crowe....

. He then continued his secondary education at Mount Roskill Grammar School
Mount Roskill Grammar School
Mount Roskill Grammar is a secondary school in the suburb of Mount Roskill, Auckland, officially opened in 1954. The school has students of over 70 different nationalities including approximately 200 International students...

, which he left at the age sixteen to pursue his ambitions and childhood dreams of becoming a successful actor.

Australia


Crowe began his performing career as a musician in the mid-1980s, under guidance from his good friend Tom Sharplin, when he performed as a rock 'n roll revivalist, under the stage name Russ Le Roq. He had a New Zealand single with I Just Want To Be Like Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando
Marlon Brando, Jr. was an American movie star and political activist. "Unchallenged as the most important actor in modern American Cinema" according to the St...

. He managed an Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

 music venue called "The Venue" in the mid '80s.

Crowe returned to Australia at age 21, intending to apply to the National Institute of Dramatic Art
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. NIDA is located adjacent...

. "I was working in a theatre show, and talked to a guy who was then the head of technical support at NIDA," Crowe has recalled. "I asked him what he thought about me spending three years at NIDA. He told me it'd be a waste of time. He said, 'You already do the things you go there to learn, and you've been doing it for most of your life, so there's nothing to teach you but bad habits.'" From 1986 to 1988, he was given his first professional role by director Daniel Abineri
Daniel Abineri
Daniel Abineri is an English actor, songwriter and playwright, famous for writing the book, music and lyrics for the controversial musical Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom....

, in a production of The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show
The Rocky Horror Show is a long-running British horror comedy stage musical, which opened in London on 19 June 1973. It was written by Richard O'Brien, produced and directed by Jim Sharman. It came eighth in a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the "Nation's Number One Essential Musicals"...

. He played the role of Eddie/Dr Scott. He repeated this performance in a further Australian production of the show. In 1987, Crowe spent six months busking
Busking
Street performance or busking is the practice of performing in public places, for gratuities, which are generally in the form of money and edibles...

 when he could not find other work. In the 1988 Australian production of Blood Brothers, Crowe played the role of Mickey. He was also cast again by Daniel Abineri
Daniel Abineri
Daniel Abineri is an English actor, songwriter and playwright, famous for writing the book, music and lyrics for the controversial musical Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom....

 in the role of Johnny, in the stage musical Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom
Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom
Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom is a controversial stage musical first performed in Australia in 1989, written by Daniel Abineri and is a satire on religion and rock and roll.-History:...

in 1989.

After appearing in the TV series Neighbours
Neighbours
Neighbours is an Australian television soap opera first broadcast on the Seven Network on 18 March 1985. It was created by TV executive Reg Watson, who proposed the idea of making a show that focused on realistic stories and portrayed adults and teenagers who talk openly and solve their problems...

and Living with the Law, Crowe was cast in his first film, The Crossing
The Crossing (1990 film)
The Crossing is a 1990 Australian drama film directed by George Ogilvie and starring Russell Crowe, Robert Mammone and Danielle Spencer, which was filmed in the towns of Junee and Condobolin in New South Wales.-Box office:...

(1990), a small-town love triangle directed by George Ogilvie. Before production started, a film-student protégé of Ogilvie, Steve Wallace, hired Crowe for the film Blood Oath (1990) (aka Prisoners of the Sun), which was released a month earlier than The Crossing, although actually filmed later. In 1992, Crowe starred in the first episode of the second series of Police Rescue
Police Rescue
Police Rescue was an Australian television series which originally aired on ABC TV between 1989 and 1996. It was produced by ABC and Southern Star Xanadu in association with the BBC....

.
Also in 1992, Crowe starred in Romper Stomper
Romper Stomper
-Awards:The film was nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards. It won Best Achievement in Sound, Best Actor in a Lead Role and Best Original Music Score.-Box office and Reception:Romper Stomper grossed $3,165,034 at the box office in Australia,...

, an Australian film which followed the exploits and downfall of a racist skinhead group in blue-collar suburban Melbourne, directed by Geoffrey Wright
Geoffrey Wright
Geoffrey Wright is an Australian film director, born in Melbourne in 1959.He gained cult success with the 1992 film Romper Stomper, which starred Russell Crowe. In 1994, he directed the gritty suburban thriller film Metal Skin, starring Ben Mendelsohn, and later directed the teen horror film...

. For the role, Crowe won an Australian Film Institute (AFI) award
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...

 for Best Actor, following up from his Best Supporting Actor award for Proof
Proof (1991 film)
Proof is a 1991 Australian film by Jocelyn Moorhouse starring Hugo Weaving, Geneviève Picot and Russell Crowe. It was chosen as "Best Film" at the 1991 Australian Film Institute Awards, along with 5 other awards, including Moorhouse for "Best Director", Weaving for "Best Leading Actor", and Crowe...

in 1991.


USA


After initial success in Australia, Crowe began acting in American films. He co-starred with Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...

 in Virtuosity
Virtuosity
Virtuosity is a 1995 techno-thriller film directed by Brett Leonard. The movie tells the story of a virtual villain's successful attempt to escape into the "real world". SID 6.7, the villain program portrayed by Russell Crowe, is eventually transplanted into an android body and escapes...

and with Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...

 in The Quick and the Dead in 1995. He went on to become a three-time Oscar nominee, winning the Academy Award
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...

 as Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...

 in 2001 for Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...

. Crowe was awarded the (Australian) Centenary Medal
Centenary Medal
The Centenary Medal is an award created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the Centenary of Federation of Australia and to honour people who have made a contribution to Australian society or government...

 in 2001 for "service to Australian society and Australian film production."

Crowe received three consecutive best actor Oscar nominations, for The Insider
The Insider (film)
The Insider is a 1999 film based on the true story of a 60 Minutes television series segment, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand. The 60 Minutes story originally aired in November 1995 in an altered form because of objections by CBS’ then-owner, Laurence Tisch, who...

, Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...

and A Beautiful Mind
A Beautiful Mind (film)
A Beautiful Mind is a 2001 American drama film based on the life of John Nash, a Nobel Laureate in Economics. The film was directed by Ron Howard and written by Akiva Goldsman. It was inspired by a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-nominated 1998 book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar...

. Crowe won the best actor award
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...

 for A Beautiful Mind at the 2002 BAFTA award ceremony, as well as the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award for the same performance. However, he failed to win the Oscar that year, losing to Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...

. It has been suggested by the Guardian and Entertainment Weekly that his attack on television producer Malcolm Gerrie for cutting short his acceptance speech may have turned voters against him.

All three films were also nominated for best picture, and both Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind won the award. Within the six year stretch from 1997–2003, he also starred in two other best picture nominees, L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...

and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...

. In 2005, he re-teamed with A Beautiful Mind director Ron Howard for Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...

. In 2006 he re-teamed with Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...

director Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...

 for A Good Year
A Good Year
A Good Year is a 2006 British romantic comedy film, set in London and Provence. It was directed by Ridley Scott, with an international cast including Russell Crowe, Marion Cotillard, Didier Bourdon, Abbie Cornish and Albert Finney...

, the first of two consecutive collaborations (the second being American Gangster co-starring again with Denzel Washington, released in late 2007). While the light romantic comedy of A Good Year was not greatly received, Crowe seemed pleased with the film, telling STV in an interview that he thought it would be enjoyed by fans of his other films.

In recent years, Crowe's box office standing has declined. The Hollywood stock market (HSX) share Russell Crowe (RCROW), issued in 1997, however maintains constant accretion. Crowe appeared in Robin Hood
Robin Hood (2010 film)
Robin Hood is a 2010 British/American adventure film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett...

, a film based on the Robin Hood
Robin Hood
Robin Hood was a heroic outlaw in English folklore. A highly skilled archer and swordsman, he is known for "robbing from the rich and giving to the poor", assisted by a group of fellow outlaws known as his "Merry Men". Traditionally, Robin Hood and his men are depicted wearing Lincoln green clothes....

 legend, directed by Ridley Scott
Ridley Scott
Sir Ridley Scott is an English film director and producer. His most famous films include The Duellists , Alien , Blade Runner , Legend , Thelma & Louise , G. I...

 and released on 14 May 2010.

Crowe starred in the 2010 Paul Haggis
Paul Haggis
Paul Edward Haggis is a Canadian screenwriter, producer, and director. He spent his early career producing and directing various American and Canadian television network series.-Early life and education:...

 film The Next Three Days
The Next Three Days
The Next Three Days is a 2010 thriller film directed by Paul Haggis and starring Russell Crowe and Elizabeth Banks. It was released in the United States on November 19, 2010 and was filmed on location in Pittsburgh...

, an adaptation of the 2008 French film Pour Elle.

Al-Qaeda threats


On 9 March 2005, Crowe revealed to GQ magazine that Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...

 (FBI) agents had approached him prior to the 73rd Academy Awards on 25 March 2001 and told him that the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda
Al-Qaeda is a global broad-based militant Islamist terrorist organization founded by Osama bin Laden sometime between August 1988 and late 1989. It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless army and a radical Sunni Muslim movement calling for global Jihad...

 wanted to kidnap him. Crowe told the magazine that it was the first time he had ever heard of al-Qaeda and was quoted as saying:



Crowe recalled that:



Crowe was guarded by United States Secret Service agents
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...

 for the next few months, both while shooting films and at award ceremonies. Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...

 also guarded Crowe while he was promoting Proof of Life in London in February 2001.

Music


In the 1980s, Crowe, going under the name of "Russ le Roq", recorded a song titled "I Want To Be Like Marlon Brando".

In the 1980s, Crowe and friend Billy Dean Cochran formed a band, "Roman Antix", which later evolved into the Australian rock band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts
30 Odd Foot Of Grunts
30 Odd Foot of Grunts and The Ordinary Fear of God are bands formed by actor Russell Crowe and friends.-Beginnings:In the '80s Russell Crowe and friend Billy Dean Cochran formed a band, "Roman Antix", which later evolved into the Australian rock band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts...

 (abbreviated to TOFOG). Crowe performed lead vocals and guitar for the band, which formed in 1992. The band released The Photograph Kills EP in 1995 as well as three full length records, Gaslight (1998),Bastard Life or Clarity (2001) and Other Ways of Speaking (2003). In 2000 TOFOG performed shows in London, Los Angeles and the now famous run of shows at Stubbs in Austin, TX which became a live DVD that was released in 2001 called Texas. In 2001 the band came to the US for major press, radio and TV appearances for the Bastard Life or Clarity release and returned Stubbs in Austin, TX to kick off a sold out US tour with dates in Austin, Boulder, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, New York City and the last show at the famous Stone Pony in Asbury Park, NJ.

In early 2005, 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts as a group has "dissolved/evolved" with Crowe feeling his future music would take a new direction and he began a collaboration with Alan Doyle
Alan Doyle
Alan Thomas Doyle is a Canadian musician and actor, best known for his work as one of the lead singers of Celtic band Great Big Sea.-Life and career:...

 of the Canadian band Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea
Great Big Sea is a Canadian folk-rock band from Newfoundland and Labrador, best known for performing energetic rock interpretations of traditional Newfoundland folk songs including sea shanties, which draw from the island's 500-year-old Irish, English, and French heritage...

, and with it a new band: The Ordinary Fear of God which also involved some members of the previous TOFOG lineup. A new single, Raewyn, was released in April 2005 and an album entitled My Hand, My Heart which was released and is available for download on iTunes. The album includes a tribute song to actor Richard Harris, who became Crowe's friend during the making of Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...

.

Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God set out to break the new band in by performing a successful sold out series of dates of Australia in 2005 and then in 2006 returned to the US to promote their new release My Hand, My Heart with another sold-out US Tour and major press, radio and television appearances.

In March 2010, Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God's version of the John Williamson
John Williamson (singer)
John Robert Williamson AM is an Australian country music singer-songwriter. Williamson has released over thirty-two albums, ten videos, five DVDs, and two lyric books...

 song "Winter Green" was included on a new compilation album The Absolute Best of John Williamson: 40 Years True Blue, commemorating the singer-songwriter's milestone of 40 years in the Australian music industry.

As of May 2011, there are plans to release a new Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God recording (co-written with Alan Doyle
Alan Doyle
Alan Thomas Doyle is a Canadian musician and actor, best known for his work as one of the lead singers of Celtic band Great Big Sea.-Life and career:...

) and for a US Tour which would be the first live dates in the US since 2006.

On 2 August 2011, the third collaboration between Crowe and Doyle was released on iTunes as The Crowe/Doyle Songbook Vol III, featuring 9 original songs followed by their acoustic demo counterparts (for a total of 18 tracks). Danielle Spencer does guest vocals on most tracks. The release coincided with a pair of live performances at the LSPU Hall in St. John's, NF. The digital album was released as download versions only on Amazon.com, iTunes, spotify. The album has since charted at No. 72 on the Canadian Albums Chart
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...

.

On 26 September 2011, Crowe appeared on-stage at Rogers Arena in Vancouver in the middle of Keith Urban's concert. He sang a cover of Folsom Prison Blues
Folsom Prison Blues
"Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...

, before joining the rest of the band in a rendition of The Joker (song)
The Joker (song)
"The Joker" is a song by the Steve Miller Band from their 1973 album The Joker. The song is one of two Steve Miller Band songs that feature the neologism "pompatus". The song topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1974. It draws heavy influence from the Allen Toussaint's song Soul Sister featured...

.

Philanthropy


During location filming of Cinderella Man, Crowe made a donation to a Jewish elementary school
United Talmud Torahs of Montreal
United Talmud Torahs of Montreal is a private coed Jewish day school system that includes an elementary and a high school on two campuses; One located in the Saint Laurent borough, the other in the Snowdon neighbourhood of the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough in Montreal, Quebec...

 whose library had been damaged as a result of arson. A note with an anti-Semitic message had been left at the scene. Crowe called school officials to express his concern and wanted his message relayed to the students. The school’s building fund received donations from throughout Canada and the amount of Crowe’s donation was not disclosed.

On another occasion, Crowe donated a large sum of money ($200,000) to a struggling primary school near his home in rural Australia. Crowe's sympathies were sparked when a pupil drowned at the nearby Coffs Harbour beach in 2001, and he believes the pool will help students become better swimmers and improve their knowledge of water safety. At the opening ceremony he dove into the pool fully clothed as soon as the venue was declared open. Nana Glen principal Laurie Renshall says, "The many things he does up here, people just don't know about. We've been trying to get a pool for 10 years."

Personal life


From his youth to the present, Crowe has had a special love of horses. "They're just like people," he told CraveOnline
CraveOnline
CraveOnline is a male lifestyle website based in Los Angeles with sales offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. The site is owned by media company AtomicOnline, the publishing division of Evolve Media Corp.- History :...

, "there are some horses that you have a deeper connection with immediately, and you can work on that over time." He has also noted that he sometimes finds it difficult to part with his equine co-stars when a film wraps.

Most of the year, Crowe resides in Australia. He has an apartment in Sydney at the end of the Finger Wharf
Finger Wharf
The Finger Wharf or Woolloomooloo Wharf is a wharf in Woolloomooloo Bay, Sydney, Australia. The structure is the largest timbered-piled building in the world and was completed in 1915...

 in Woolloomooloo
Woolloomooloo, New South Wales
Woolloomooloo is a harbourside, inner-city eastern suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Woolloomooloo is located 1.5 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney. The suburb is located in a low-lying, former...

 and a 320-hectare rural property in Nana Glen
Nana Glen, New South Wales
Nana Glen is a small village in New South Wales, Australia, located 25km inland north west of Coffs Harbour in the City of Coffs Harbour. It has a primary school, general store, church,swimming pool and sports ground. It is at the juncture of several roads including Bucca Road leading to Lower Bucca...

 near Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
-History:By the early 1900s, the Coffs Harbour area had become an important timber production centre. Before the opening of the North Coast Railway Line, the only way to transport large items of heavy but low value, such as timber, was by coastal shipping. This meant sawmillers on the North Coast...

. In 2011 the family moved to a house with a garden in Sydney´s district Rose Bay. The Nana Glen property, a cattle farm (700 Black Angus), includes a chapel that Crowe built for his wedding to Spencer.

Crowe also owns a house in the North Queensland city of Townsville: he purchased the $450,000 home in the suburb of Douglas
Douglas, Queensland
Douglas is a suburb of Townsville, Queensland, Australia south of the Ross River and west of the city centre.Though mainly residential, it does contain James Cook University and the Townsville Hospital...

 on 3 May 2008.
It's believed the home is for his niece, who is studying at James Cook University
James Cook University
James Cook University is a public university based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. The university has two Australian campuses, located in Townsville and Cairns respectively, and an international campus in Singapore. JCU is the second oldest university in Queensland—proclaimed in 1970—and the...

.

Crowe stated in November 2007, shortly after the former husband of his longtime family friend Nicole Kidman Tom Cruise had intensified missionary work for Scientology church, that he would like to be baptised as a Christian , and feels that he has put it off for too long. "I do believe there are more important things than what is in the mind of a man," he says. "There is something much bigger that drives us all. I'm willing to take that leap of faith."

In the beginning of 2009, Crowe appeared in a series of special edition postage stamps called "Legends of the Screen", featuring Australian actors. He, Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting , three British Academy Film Awards , two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen...

, Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...

, and Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...

 each appear twice in the series: once as themselves and once as their Academy Award-winning character.

Crowe announced he had quit smoking in July 2010 for the sake of his two sons. He told a press conference that he had started smoking when he was ten, and had probably smoked up to 18,000 cigarettes a year for most of his life. On 10 November 2010 he admitted on the Late Show with David Letterman that he had smoked over 60 cigarettes a day until stopping, but added that he had smoked heavily during an official dinner on the previous day. In December 2010 the Toronto Sun reported that Crowe was smoking as heavily as ever during the making of, and the subsequent publicity campaign for, The Next Three Days. By April 2011, it has been officially confirmed that Crowe has taken up smoking again.

Rugby league


Crowe has been a supporter of the rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 football team the South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...

 since childhood. Since his rise to fame as an actor, he has continued appearing at home games, and supported the financially troubled club. Following the Super League war
Super League war
The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...

 of the 1990s Crowe made an attempt to use his Hollywood connections to convince Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...

, rival of Super League's Rupert Murdoch
Rupert Murdoch
Keith Rupert Murdoch, AC, KSG is an Australian-American business magnate. He is the founder and Chairman and CEO of , the world's second-largest media conglomerate....

, to save the Rabbitohs before they were forced from the National Rugby League
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...

 competition for two years. In 1999 Crowe paid A$42,000 at auction for the brass bell used to open the inaugural rugby league
New South Wales Rugby League season 1908
The 1908 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the inaugural season of Australia's first rugby league football club competition, which was based in Sydney, New South Wales...

 match in Australia in 1908 at a fund-raiser to assist Souths' legal battle for re-inclusion in the League. In 2005, he made the Rabbitohs the first club team in Australia to be sponsored by a film, when he negotiated a deal to advertise his film Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...

on their jerseys.

He is friends with many current and former players of the club, and currently employs former South Sydney forward Mark Carroll as a bodyguard and personal trainer. He has encouraged other actors to support the club, such as Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....

 and Burt Reynolds
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Bobby "Gator" McCluskey in White Lightning and sequel Gator, Paul Crewe and Coach Nate Scarborough in The Longest Yard and its...

.

On 19 March 2006, the voting members of the South Sydney club voted (in a 75.8% majority) to allow Crowe and businessman Peter Holmes à Court
Peter Holmes à Court
Peter Holmes à Court is an Australian businessman and a joint owner of the National Rugby League team South Sydney Rabbitohs together with Russell Crowe....

 to purchase 75% of the organisation, leaving 25% ownership with the members. It cost them A$3 million, and they received four of eight seats on the board of directors. A six part television miniseries entitled "South Side Story" depicting the takeover aired in Australia in 2007.

On 5 November 2006, Crowe appeared on Tonight Show with Jay Leno to announce that Firepower International
Firepower International
Firepower International was advertised as a Hong Kong-based company owned and operated by Global Fuel Technologies Ltd, specializing in technology purporting to reduce the fuel consumption and environmental impact of petrol-operated vehicles. There were other offices in Sydney, China, Rhodes,...

 was sponsoring the South Sydney Rabbitohs for $3 million over three years. During a Tonight Show with Jay Leno appearance, watched by over 11 million viewers, Crowe showed viewers a Rabbitoh playing jersey with Firepower's name emblazoned on it.

Crowe helped to organise a rugby league game that took place in Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...

, Florida between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the English Super League champions
2007 Super League Grand Final
The 2007 Super League Grand Final was held on Saturday 13 October 2007, at Old Trafford in Manchester, England. The game was played between St Helens, who finished top of the league after the 27 weekly rounds, and Leeds Rhinos, who finished second after the weekly rounds.-Route to final:Regular...

 Leeds Rhinos on 26 January 2008 (Australia Day
Australia Day
Australia Day is the official national day of Australia...

). The game was played at the University of North Florida
University of North Florida
The University of North Florida is a public university located in Jacksonville, Florida. A member institution of the State University System of Florida, the university is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award baccalaureate, master’s...

. Crowe told ITV Local
ITV Local
ITV Local was a broadband service provided by ITV plc, the contractor and provider of ITV in 11 of the 15 Television Regions. First established in 2005, the website provided local news, weather and features on demand 24 hours a day....

 Yorkshire the game was not a marketing exercise.

Crowe wrote a letter of apology to a Sydney newspaper following the sacking of South Sydney's coach Jason Taylor and one of their players David Fa'alogo
David Fa'alogo
David Fa'alogo is a professional rugby league footballer with the Huddersfield Giants of Super League, formerly contracted with the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League...

 after a drunken altercation between the two at the end of the 2009 NRL season.

Also in 2009 Crowe persuaded young England international forward Sam Burgess
Sam Burgess
Sam Burgess is an English professional rugby league footballer for the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League...

 to sign with the Rabbitohs over other clubs that were competing for his signature, after inviting Burgess and his mother to the set of Robin Hood
Robin Hood (2010 film)
Robin Hood is a 2010 British/American adventure film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett...

, which he was filming in England at the time.

In the 2010 post-season it was reported that Crowe's influence was critical in persuading Greg Inglis
Greg Inglis
Greg Inglis is an Australian professional rugby league player for the South Sydney Rabbitohs. A Queensland State of Origin and Australian international representative outside back, Inglis joined the Rabbitohs in 2011 after much controversy.Inglis is a versatile back, having played in several...

, one of the world's best players, to renege on his deal to join the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...

 and sign for the Rabbitohs for 2011.

On 5 December 2010 the Sunday Telegraph
Sunday Telegraph
The Sunday Telegraph is a British broadsheet newspaper, founded in February 1961. It is the sister paper of The Daily Telegraph, but is run separately with a different editorial staff, although there is some cross-usage of stories...

 reported that the NRL was investigating the business relationships Russell Crowe has with a number of media and entertainment companies in relation to the South Sydney Rabbitohs' salary cap. Salary cap auditor Ian Schubert
Ian Schubert
Ian 'Shoey' Schubert is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1970s and 80s....

 was reported to be delving into Crowe's recent dealings with Channel Nine
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...

, Channel Seven
Seven Network
The Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...

, ANZ Stadium and V8 Supercars.

On 26 January 2011 the Sydney Morning Herald reported that the Rabbitohs were about to embark on a five year multi-million dollar sponsorship deal with the giant Star City Casino
Star City Casino
The Star Sydney Casino & Hotel in Pyrmont, Sydney, is the second largest casino in Australia after rival Melbourne's Crown Casino. Overlooking Darling Harbour, The Star Sydney Casino features two gaming floors, eight bars, seven restaurants, 351 hotel rooms and 130 serviced and privately owned...

. Souths also announced a corporate partnership with the bookmaking conglomerate Luxbet.

Previously Crowe had been prominent in trying to prevent gambling being associated with the Rabbitohs. Reuters, on 3 January 2008, reported that Crowe was "fighting a new gladiatorial combat to wean his countrymen off their addiction to gambling machines."

In May 2011 Crowe was credited for an arrangement with Fox to have the 2011 State of Origin series
2011 State of Origin series
The 2011 State of Origin series was the 30th annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams contested under "State of Origin" selection rules. Game I was played in Brisbane, Game II was played in Sydney and...

 broadcast live for the first time in the United States, in addition to the NRL Grand Final.

Other sporting interests


In Football (soccer), Crowe acknowledged to be a fan of Bristol City and Leeds United.

Crowe is a big cricket fan. He played cricket in school and his cousins Martin Crowe
Martin Crowe
Martin David Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1985, and was credited as one of the "best young batsmen in the world". Crowe represented New Zealand from the early 1980s until his retirement in 1996 as a right-handed batsman...

 and Jeff Crowe
Jeff Crowe
Jeffrey John Crowe is a former New Zealand cricketer. He is the son of Dave Crowe and elder brother of Martin Crowe. They are cousins of Oscar winning actor, Russell Crowe....

 are former Black Caps Captains. Russell Crowe also captained the 'Australian' Team containing Steve Waugh
Steve Waugh
Stephen Rodger "Steve" Waugh, AO is a former Australian cricketer and fraternal twin of cricketer Mark Waugh. A right-handed batsman, he was also a successful medium-pace bowler...

 against an English side in the 'Hollywood Ashes' Cricket Match. On 17 July 2009, Crowe took to the commentary box for the British sports channel, Sky Sports, as the 'third man' during the second test of the 2009 Ashes series, between England and Australia.

Russell Crowe is also a supporter of the Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...

in the Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...

 and Richmond Tigers in the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...



Crowe is a big supporter of the University of Michigan Wolverines
Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 27 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except men's ice hockey which competes in the NCAA D1 Central Collegiate Hockey Association, and women's water polo, which...

 American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 team
Michigan Wolverines football
The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...

, an interest that stems from his friendship with former Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr
Lloyd Carr
Lloyd H. Carr is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at the University of Michigan from 1995 through the 2007 season. Under Carr, the Wolverines compiled a record of 122–40 and won or shared five Big Ten Conference titles...

. Carr used Crowe's movie Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...

to motivate his team in 2006
2006 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 2006 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2006 college football season. The team's head football coach was Lloyd Carr. The Wolverines came into the season with lower expectations than many Michigan teams of the previous few seasons, ranked #14...

 following a disappointing 7–5 season the previous year. Upon hearing of this, Crowe called Carr and invited him to Australia to address his Rugby league team the South Sydney Rabbitohs
South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...

, an offer Carr took Crowe up on the following summer. In September 2007, after Carr came under fire following the Wolverines' 0–2 start
2007 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 2007 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 2007 college football season. This was Lloyd Carr's final season as Michigan head coach. The 2007 season began with a stunning loss to Appalachian State, but the Wolverines won eight straight games after...

, Crowe traveled to Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

 for the Wolverines' 15 September game against Notre Dame
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

 to show his support for Carr. He addressed the team before the game and watched from the sidelines as the Wolverines defeated the Irish
2007 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team
The 2007 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was the college football team that represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2007 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis in his third year as head coach, and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre...

 38–0.

Crowe is also a fan of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

, and on 22 October 2007, appeared in the booth of a Monday Night game between the Indianapolis Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

 and the Jacksonville Jaguars
Jacksonville Jaguars
The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida, U.S. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He is also a devout fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...

 which stems from his shooting of Cinderella Man at Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...

.

Altercations


Between 1999 and 2005 Crowe was involved in three altercations which gave him a reputation for having a bad temper.

In 1999, Crowe was involved in a scuffle at the Plantation Hotel in Coffs Harbour
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales
-History:By the early 1900s, the Coffs Harbour area had become an important timber production centre. Before the opening of the North Coast Railway Line, the only way to transport large items of heavy but low value, such as timber, was by coastal shipping. This meant sawmillers on the North Coast...

, Australia, which was caught on security video. Two men were acquitted of using the video in an attempt to blackmail Crowe.

Four years later, when part of Crowe's appearance at the 2002 BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...

 awards was cut out to fit into the BBC's tape-delayed broadcast, Crowe used strong language during an argument with producer Malcolm Gerrie. The part cut was a poem in tribute to actor Richard Harris
Richard Harris
Richard St John Harris was an Irish actor, singer-songwriter, theatrical producer, film director and writer....

 who was then terminally ill, and was cut for copyright reasons. Crowe later apologised, saying "What I said to him may have been a little bit more passionate than now, in the cold light of day, I would have liked it to have been." Later that year, Crowe was alleged to have been involved in a "brawl" with businessman Eric Watson inside a trendy Japanese restaurant in London. The fight was broken up by British actor Ross Kemp
Ross Kemp
Ross James Kemp is a BAFTA award-winning British actor, author and journalist, who rose to prominence in the role of Grant Mitchell in the BBC soap opera, EastEnders...

.

In June 2005, Crowe was arrested and charged with second-degree assault by New York City police
New York City Police Department
The New York City Police Department , established in 1845, is currently the largest municipal police force in the United States, with primary responsibilities in law enforcement and investigation within the five boroughs of New York City...

, after he threw a telephone at an employee of the Mercer Hotel who refused to help him place a call when the system did not work from his room, and was charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon (the telephone). The employee, a concierge
Concierge
A concierge is an employee who either works in shifts within, or lives on the premises of an apartment building or a hotel and serves guests with duties similar to those of a butler. The position can also be maintained by a security officer over the 'graveyard' shift. A similar position, known as...

, was treated for a facial laceration.
After his arrest Crowe underwent the procedure of a perp walk
Perp walk
A perp walk, or walking the perp,The term "perp" is short for "perpetrator", and is commonly used by police departments for those they arrest. It is legally inaccurate since the arrested individual's guilt has not been judicially established at that point...

, exposing the enchained suspect to the previously informed media to take pictures for coverage purposes, a customary procedure especially in New York, which was under discussion to collide with Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Declaration arose directly from the experience of the Second World War and represents the first global expression of rights to which all human beings are inherently entitled...

.
Crowe later described the incident as "possibly the most shameful situation that I've ever gotten myself in... and I've done some pretty dumb things in my life". He was sentenced to conditional release. Prior to the plea bargain, Crowe settled a lawsuit filed by the concierge, Nestor Estrada. Terms of the settlement were not disclosed but amounts in the six-figure range have been suggested.

Crowe's altercations were lampooned in the South Park
South Park
South Park is an American animated television series created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone for the Comedy Central television network. Intended for mature audiences, the show has become famous for its crude language, surreal, satirical, and dark humor that lampoons a wide range of topics...

episode, "The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer
The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer
"The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of the Comedy Central series South Park and the 84th episode of the series overall. It originally aired on April 3, 2002. The episode parodies Russel Crowe's real life altercations as the boys must watch his show...

"; between 2005 and 2011 the telephone incident caused DPR mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

 perpetuation, leading to the long-term petrification of Crowe´s personal public image, - aside from his professional public image as “The Gladiator” – as of “the telephone throwing actor”. Crowe commented the ongoing media perpetuation in November 2010, five years into the process, during an interview led by the well known American television talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose
Charlie Rose
Charles Peete "Charlie" Rose, Jr. is an American television talk show host and journalist. Since 1991 he has hosted Charlie Rose, an interview show distributed nationally by PBS since 1993...

: “it affected me psychologically” (min 42:51) (…) “it indelibly changed me”. (min 42:00) Reasons for the long-term media perpetuation of one particular incident are to be found in the connection of a very well known celebrity name, the absence of further media utilizable altercations and the exponential growth of internet driven new mass media during the second half of the decade, speeding-up the constant need for messages having public appeal.
A new drive to the topic brought the actor´s participation in the microblogging service Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

, beginning in April 2010, thus opening a new rich source for tabloid journalism coverage.

Controversies


In June 2011, Crowe expressed in the course of a friendly Twitter conversation with his colleague, Jewish screenwriter Eli Roth
Eli Roth
Eli Raphael Roth is an American film director, producer, writer and actor. He is known for his role as Donny "The Bear Jew" Donowitz in Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds for which he won both a SAG Award and a BFCA Critic's Choice Award...

, his views against infant circumcision
Circumcision
Male circumcision is the surgical removal of some or all of the foreskin from the penis. The word "circumcision" comes from Latin and ....

, calling the practice "barbaric" and asking, "Who are you to correct nature? Is it real that [God] requires a donation of foreskin
Foreskin
In male human anatomy, the foreskin is a generally retractable double-layered fold of skin and mucous membrane that covers the glans penis and protects the urinary meatus when the penis is not erect...

? Babies are [born] perfect." The comments coincided with a debate to ban the procedure on infants in California, USA. Crowe, living in New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

, Australia, and not being a member of any church, removed the comments the following day and tweeted an apology: "My personal beliefs aside I realize that some will interpret this debate as me mocking the rituals and traditions of others. I am very sorry."

Since November 15, 2011 Crowe supports the first globally networked protest movement OWS - Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street
Occupy Wall Street is an ongoing series of demonstrations initiated by the Canadian activist group Adbusters which began September 17, 2011 in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Wall Street financial district...

 movement via Twitter, asking his 310.000 followers to listen to Keith Olbermann Reading Occupy Wall Street Declaration and stating on Nov 15, 2011 via his Twitter account

Filmography

Films
Year Film Role Notes
1990 Prisoners of the Sun
Blood Oath (film)
Blood Oath is a 1990 Australian feature film, known in some countries as Prisoners of the Sun. The film is based on the real-life trial of Japanese soldiers for war crimes committed against Allied prisoners of war on the island of Ambon, in the Netherlands East Indies , such as the Laha massacre of...

Lt. Jack Corbett
1990 Johnny Ryan Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award – Best Actor in Lead Role
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...

1991 Proof
Proof (1991 film)
Proof is a 1991 Australian film by Jocelyn Moorhouse starring Hugo Weaving, Geneviève Picot and Russell Crowe. It was chosen as "Best Film" at the 1991 Australian Film Institute Awards, along with 5 other awards, including Moorhouse for "Best Director", Weaving for "Best Leading Actor", and Crowe...

Andy Australian Film Institute Award – Best Supporting Actor
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...


Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Actor – Male
Film Critics Circle of Australia
The Film Critics Circle of Australia is a group of cinema critics that judge Australian films.-External links:**...

1992 Spotswood
Spotswood (film)
Spotswood is an Australian comedy film directed by Mark Joffe, made in 1990-1991, released in 1992 in some locations. It is also known as The Efficiency Expert in America....

Kim Barrett
1992 Romper Stomper
Romper Stomper
-Awards:The film was nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards. It won Best Achievement in Sound, Best Actor in a Lead Role and Best Original Music Score.-Box office and Reception:Romper Stomper grossed $3,165,034 at the box office in Australia,...

Hando Australian Film Institute Award – Best Actor in Lead Role
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...


Seattle International Film Festival for Best Actor
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...

 (also for Hammers Over the Anvil
Hammers Over the Anvil
Hammers Over the Anvil is a 1991 Australian drama film starring Russell Crowe and Charlotte Rampling, directed by Ann Turner. The screenplay by Peter Hepworth and Ann Turner is based on the novel by Alan Marshall...

)
1993 Hammers Over the Anvil
Hammers Over the Anvil
Hammers Over the Anvil is a 1991 Australian drama film starring Russell Crowe and Charlotte Rampling, directed by Ann Turner. The screenplay by Peter Hepworth and Ann Turner is based on the novel by Alan Marshall...

East Driscoll Seattle International Film Festival for Best Actor
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...

 (also for Romper Stomper
Romper Stomper
-Awards:The film was nominated for nine Australian Film Institute Awards. It won Best Achievement in Sound, Best Actor in a Lead Role and Best Original Music Score.-Box office and Reception:Romper Stomper grossed $3,165,034 at the box office in Australia,...

)
1993 The Man (Egan)
1993 For the Moment
For the Moment (film)
For the Moment is a 1993 film written and directed by Aaron Kim Johnston and starring Russell Crowe and Christianne Hirt. The plot revolves around airmen training in rural Manitoba, Canada, with the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan during the Second World War. The main focus of the story is...

Lachlan Currie
1993 Love in Limbo Arthur Baskin
1994 Jeff Mitchell
1995 Cort
1995 No Way Back FBI Agent Zack Grant
1995 Virtuosity
Virtuosity
Virtuosity is a 1995 techno-thriller film directed by Brett Leonard. The movie tells the story of a virtual villain's successful attempt to escape into the "real world". SID 6.7, the villain program portrayed by Russell Crowe, is eventually transplanted into an android body and escapes...

SID 6.7
1995 Rough Magic Alex Ross
1997 L.A. Confidential
L.A. Confidential (film)
L.A. Confidential is a 1997 American film based on James Ellroy's 1990 novel of the same title, the third book in his L.A. Quartet. Both the book and the film tell the story of a group of LAPD officers in the 1950s, and the intersection of police corruption and Hollywood celebrity...

Officer Wendell "Bud" White Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor
Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor
The Chlotrudis Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the actor or actors whose winning performance is voted by participating members. The Chlotrudis Awards is an annual ceremony where the best of the previous year's independent and international...


Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1997 Heaven's Burning
Heaven's Burning
Heaven's Burning is a 1997 Australian film directed by Craig Lahiff and written by Louis Nowra.-Plot:Midori Takada arrives in Sydney with her new husband Yukio . She believes her marriage is a mistake and uses the honeymoon as a means to escape by walking out of their hotel room...

Colin O'Brien
1997 Breaking Up
Breaking Up (film)
Breaking Up is a 1997 direct-to-video film starring Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek as a couple whose relationship leads to an out of the blue marriage.-Plot:...

Steve
1999 Mystery, Alaska
Mystery, Alaska
Mystery, Alaska is a 1999 drama directed by Jay Roach about a fictional small-town ice hockey team that plays a game against the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. It was shot in Banff National Park and Canmore, Alberta.-Plot:...

Sheriff John Biebe
1999 Jeffrey Wigand
Jeffrey Wigand
Jeffrey S. Wigand is a former vice president of research and development at Brown & Williamson in Louisville, Kentucky, who worked on the development of reduced-harm cigarettes...

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young...


London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
The London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year in an annual award given by the London Film Critics Circle.-2000s:-2010s:...

 (also for Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...

)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is one of the annual awards given by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:...


National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
National Board of Review Award for Best Actor
An incomplete list of the winners of the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award for Best Actor :-1940s:-1950s:-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...


National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
The National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor is an annual award given by the National Society of Film Critics to honor the best leading actor of the year.-1960s:-1970s:-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...


Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...


Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...


Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:...


Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...


Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society
The Las Vegas Film Critics Society is a non-profit organization, composed of selected print, television and internet film critics in the Las Vegas metropolitan area....


Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best lead actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...


Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2000 Gladiator
Gladiator (2000 film)
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film directed by Ridley Scott, starring Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Ralf Möller, Oliver Reed, Djimon Hounsou, Derek Jacobi, John Shrapnel and Richard Harris. Crowe portrays the loyal Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius, who is betrayed...

Maximus Decimus Meridius Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...


Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Action
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young...


Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association to honor the best achievements in filmmaking.-1990s:*1993: Anthony Hopkins - The Remains of the Day*1994:...


Empire Award for Best Actor
Empire Awards
An Empire Award is an accolade bestowed by Empire, Britain's biggest selling film magazine, to recognize excellence of professionals in the locale and global film industry. The awards are voted for by readers of the magazine and in an annual ceremony, the Empire Awards, the winners are presented...


London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
The London Film Critics Circle Award for Actor of the Year in an annual award given by the London Film Critics Circle.-2000s:-2010s:...

 (also for The Insider
The Insider (film)
The Insider is a 1999 film based on the true story of a 60 Minutes television series segment, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand. The 60 Minutes story originally aired in November 1995 in an altered form because of objections by CBS’ then-owner, Laurence Tisch, who...

)
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
The San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor is an award given by the San Diego Film Critics Society to honor the finest male acting achievementes in filmmaking.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...


Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...


Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...


Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Las Vegas Film Critics Society
The Las Vegas Film Critics Society is a non-profit organization, composed of selected print, television and internet film critics in the Las Vegas metropolitan area....


Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Performance
MTV Movie Award for Best Performance
This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award winners and nominees for Best Performance from 1992 onward. In all but two years, the awards are separated into Male and Female categories.-1992:...


Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Fight
MTV Movie Award for Best Fight
The MTV Movie Award for Best Fight is an award presented to actors and characters for quality fight scenes in films at the MTV Movie Awards, a ceremony established in 1992. Honors in several categories are awarded by MTV at the annual ceremonies, and are chosen by public vote...


Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best lead actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...


Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actor
Saturn Award for Best Actor
The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed, who felt that films within those genres...


Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2000 Proof of Life
Proof of Life
Proof of Life is a 2000 American film, directed by Taylor Hackford. The title refers to a phrase commonly used to indicate proof that a kidnap victim is still alive...

Terry Thorne Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actor – Suspense
2001 John Nash BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Best Actor in a Leading Role is a British Academy Film award presented annually by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding leading performance in a film.-Superlatives:...


Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young...


Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is an award given by the Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association to honor the best achievements in filmmaking.-1990s:*1993: Anthony Hopkins - The Remains of the Day*1994:...


Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...


Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
The Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is an award given by the Phoenix Film Critics Society to honor the finest achievements in filmmaking.-2000s:-2010s:...


Nominated—American Film Institute Award for Best Actor
American Film Institute Awards 2001
The AFI Awards 2001 honoring the best in film and television for 2001 were held January 5th 2002. The nominations were announced December 17, 2001. The ceremony announcing the winners was broadcast on CBS. It did not do well in the ratings so it would not be held in this format again...


Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actor
Academy Award for Best Actor
Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry...


Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award – Best Actor in Lead Role
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...


Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor is an annual award given by the Chicago Film Critics Association.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:-References:...


Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Performance
MTV Movie Award for Best Performance
This is a following list of the MTV Movie Award winners and nominees for Best Performance from 1992 onward. In all but two years, the awards are separated into Male and Female categories.-1992:...


Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
The Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor is an annual film award given by the Online Film Critics Society to honor the best lead actor of the year.-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...


Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2003 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir, starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin and released by 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films and Universal Studios...

Capt. Jack Aubrey
Jack Aubrey
John "Jack" Aubrey, KB , is a fictional character in the Aubrey–Maturin series of novels by Patrick O'Brian. The series portrays his rise from Lieutenant to Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars. The twenty -book series encompasses Aubrey's adventures and various commands along...

Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young...


Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...

2005 Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is a 2005 American drama film by Ron Howard, titled after the nickname of heavyweight boxing champion James J. Braddock and inspired by his life story. The film was produced by Howard, Penny Marshall, and Brian Grazer.-Plot:James J...

Jim Braddock
James J. Braddock
James Walter "The Cinderella Man" Braddock was an American boxer who was the world heavyweight champion from 1935 to 1937....

Australian Film Institute Award – Best International Actor
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...


Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
The Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor is one of the awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Broadcast Film Critics Association.-List of winners and nominees:*1995: Kevin Bacon - Murder in the First as Henri Young...


Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture - Drama was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1951...


Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
2006 Max Skinner
2007 3:10 to Yuma
3:10 to Yuma (2007 film)
3:10 to Yuma is the 2007 remake of the 1957 film of the same name, making it the second adaptation of Elmore Leonard's short story Three-Ten to Yuma. It is directed by James Mangold and produced by Cathy Konrad, and stars Academy Award winners Russell Crowe and Christian Bale in the lead roles. ...

Ben Wade Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2007 American Gangster Det. Richie Roberts
Richie Roberts
Richard M. "Richie" Roberts is a former detective, Essex County Prosecutor and is currently a defense attorney. He is most widely recognized for the arrest, prosecution and later defense of Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas....

Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award – Best International Actor
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...


Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2008 Tenderness
Tenderness (film)
Tenderness is a 2009 American crime film directed by John Polson, which stars Jon Foster, Sophie Traub, Russell Crowe, and Laura Dern. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Robert Cormier.-Plot:...

Detective Cristofuoro
2008 Body of Lies
Body of Lies (film)
Body of Lies is a 2008 American spy film directed by Ridley Scott. Set in the Middle East, it follows the attempts of the CIA and Jordanian Intelligence to catch "al-Saleem", a fictional jihadist terrorist...

Ed Hoffman
2009 State of Play
State of Play (film)
State of Play is a 2009 French-British-American political thriller film. It is an adaptation of the six-part British television serial of the same name which first aired on BBC One in 2003. The plot of the six-hour serial was condensed to fit a two-hour movie format, with the location changed to...

Cal McAffrey Australian Film Institute Award – Best International Actor
Australian Film Institute
The Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...

2010 Robin Hood
Robin Hood (2010 film)
Robin Hood is a 2010 British/American adventure film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett...

Robin Longstride Nominated–Teen Choice Award for Action Adventure Actor
Teen Choice Awards
The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...

2010 John Brennan
2012/2013 Les Misérables
Les Misérables (2012 film)
Les Misérables is an upcoming 2012 British musical film directed by Tom Hooper, written by William Nicholson and adapted from the popular musical of the same name, which is in turn based on an 1862 French novel by Victor Hugo.-Premise:...

Javert
Javert
Javert is a fictional character from the novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. He is a prison guard, and later policeman, who devotes his life to the law. He is always referred to just simply as "Javert" or "Inspector Javert" by the narrator and other characters throughout the novel; his first name...

Pre-production
2013 Man of Steel (film) Jor-El
Jor-El
Jor-El is a fictional character, an extraterrestrial in the . He was created by the writer Jerry Siegel and the artist Joe Shuster, and he first appeared in a newspaper comic strip in 1939 as Superman's biological father....


External links


  • Russell Crowe: American Gangster video interview with stv.tv
    Stv.tv
    www.stv.tv is the URL of the website of the Scottish television channel, STV. The website currently offers the usual sections of News, Sport, Entertainment, Weather, Competitions, Forums and STV programme information, with TV listings...

    , November 2007