Russell Crowe
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
When he was 10 years old, Crowe lost a front tooth in a football match. When director George Ogilvie was talking to Crowe about casting him in "The Crossing", Ogilvie encouraged him to get the tooth replaced.
Since 1984, Crowe has played with the rock band "30 Odd Foots of Grunts".
Biography
A galvanizing presence who earned Hollywood's highest acting accolades, actor Russell Crowe ultimately built a reputation as an A-list leading man. With an intense breakout performance as a racist skinhead in the Australian-made "Romper Stomper" (1992), Crowe established himself as an actor on the rise. Crossing the Pacific, he exploded off the screen as a violent 1950s police detective in "L.A. Confidential" (1997), announcing loudly to American audiences that he had arrived. Two years later, Crowe earned his first Academy Award nomination with a sterling performance as a tobacco executive trapped between telling the truth and protecting his family in "The Insider" (1999). But it was his turn as a Roman general in "Gladiator" (2000) that brought home Oscar glory. He was exceptional as schizophrenic math genius John Nash in "A Beautiful Mind" (2001), and followed up with acclaimed roles in "Cinderella Man" (2005) and "3:10 to Yuma" (2007). He also turned in fine performances in "American Gangster" (2007), "State of Play" (2009) and "Robin Hood" (2010). Crowe was an actor of extraordinary talent and range capable of delivering one acclaimed performance after another.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Misc. Crew (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1968
At age four moved with family to Australia
1970
Began acting career on Australian TV series "Spyforce"; first time co-starring with Jack Thompson
1978
Landed role on Australian serial "The Young Doctors"
1978
Family returned to New Zealand
1980
Began performing as a singer, billing himself as Rus Le Roq; recorded the single "I Want To Be Like Marlon Brando"
1982
Returned to Australia at age 18 to resume acting career
1983
Cast in a role in an Australian production of "Grease"
1986
Toured Australia and New Zealand in the stage production of "The Rocky Horror Show" as Dr. Frank N. Furter
1989
Appeared on stage in the musical "Blood Brothers"; spotted by director George Ogilvie
1990
First leading role in a feature film, "The Crossing" directed by George Ogilvie
1990
Feature film debut, "Blood Oath/Prisoners of the Sun"
1991
Acted in the Australian TV miniseries "Brides of Christ" (aired in U.S. 1993)
1991
Garnered attention for his performance as a mild-mannered dishwasher in "Proof"
1992
Breakthrough screen role, a neo-Nazi in "Romper Stomper"
1994
Played a gay man living at home with his dad (Jack Thompson) in "The Sum of Us"
1995
Cast as the villainous Sid 6.7 opposite Denzel Washington in "Virtuosity"
1995
First American feature, "The Quick and the Dead"
1997
Played the brutal and obsessive cop Bud White in Curtis Hanson's acclaimed "L.A. Confidential"
1999
Portrayed tobacco industry whistle blower Jeffrey Wigand in Michael Mann's "The Insider"; earned a Best Actor Academy Award nomination
1999
Played a hockey player in "Mystery, Alaska"
2000
Portrayed General Maximus Decimus Meridius in Ridley Scott's "Gladiator"; garnered second Best Actor Academy Award nomination
2000
Co-starred with Meg Ryan in Taylor Hackford's "Proof of Life"
2001
Portrayed mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr., who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia in Ron Howard's "A Beautiful Mind"; received third consecutive Best Actor Academy Award nomination
2003
Again worked with "Beautiful Mind" co-star Paul Bettany on "Master and Commander"; received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor
2005
Re-teamed with director Ron Howard to play Depression-era heavyweight champ Jim Braddock in "Cinderella Man"; earned Golden Globe and SAG nominations for Best Actor
2006
Once again teamed with director Ridley Scott to star in romantic drama "A Good Year"
2007
Co-starred with Christian Bale in "3:10 to Yuma," a Western directed by James Mangold
2007
Formed own production company Fear of God Films
2007
Again teamed up with director Ridley Scott and co-star Denzel Washington, playing a 1970s police detective in "American Gangster"
2008
Once again directed by Ridley Scott in "Body of Lies"; playing a manipulative CIA boss opposite Leonardo DiCaprio
2009
Played a journalist opposite Ben Affleck in the thriller "State of Play"
2010
Received star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
2010
Played title role in Ridley Scott's adaptation of "Robin Hood"
2010
Directed by Paul Haggis in the thriller "The Next Three Days"
2012
Co-starred in action feature "The Man with the Iron Fists"
2012
Played Inspector Javert in feature adaptation of popular musical drama "Les Misérables," directed by Tom Hooper
2013
Played Jor-El, father of Superman, in DC's "Man of Steel"
2013
Cast as a corrupt mayor opposite Mark Wahlberg and Catherine Zeta-Jones in crime drama "Broken City"
2014
Appeared alongside Colin Farrell and Jessica Brown Findlay in "Winter's Tale"
2016
Co-starred with Amanda Seyfried in the drama "Fathers & Daughters"
2016
Co-starred with Ryan Gosling in period crime comedy "The Nice Guys"
2017
Cast as Henry Jekyll in the ill-advised "Mummy" reboot
2017
Made an uncredited appearance in war comedy drama "War Machine"
2018
Played a supporting role in Joel Edgerton-helmed drama "Boy Erased"
2018
Appeared in Tourism Australia's bizarre viral video series "Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home"
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
When he was 10 years old, Crowe lost a front tooth in a football match. When director George Ogilvie was talking to Crowe about casting him in "The Crossing", Ogilvie encouraged him to get the tooth replaced.
Since 1984, Crowe has played with the rock band "30 Odd Foots of Grunts".
"I've made eighteen movies and I think I've given eighteen bad performances. I'm still prepared to believe that I'm learning this job, and sooner or later I might give a performance I like. Unfortunately, I might not get any more after that, so I think it's better I stay unsatisfied."---Russell Crowe to Kim Basinger in Interview, September 1997.
"In Australia, if you make movies, man, you've run away and joined the circus. You're outside of society on lots of different levels, including financially. You do it because you love to do it. Everybody needs to be getting on with each other, because we're doing very long days, and shooting into the night every single night."---Crowe to Detour, October 1997.
"It's more of an industry here [in the U.S.], more big business, you know? Generally, you're in the corner the other actor is in his corner, somebody rings the bell, and you come out and do your stuff. But that's not the basis of performance. In order to get true emotional levels, true levels of sexuality, you've got to be emotionally close to your co-star, your fellow performer. And you know that that relationship is only for the movie. I'm blown away here, where people don't even sit their actors down in the same room and have a reading."---Russell Crowe to Detour, October 1997.
"He is relentless with his questions, arguments and conjectures. I thought he was always testing and testing to see if I knew what I was doing. But once I had his trust, he would have done anything during the shoot. He would have stepped out an open window, high up, if I had asked him."---"L.A. Confidential" director Curtis Hanson to Australian Vogue, October 1997.
"There's an elusive amalgam of sensitivity and strength which most actors don't have at all, With Russell you always felt that when he was doing it, he meant it. He has that gravity and masculinity that is disappearing from leading men. If you were casting an Australian remake of 'Raging Bull' then Crowe is the only actor you would consider,"---Australian film producer Al Clark quoted by Alex McGregor in "Good Cop, Bad Cop" in The Age, Good Weekend, November 1, 1997.
"I grew up in Australia, so I've got aspects of both cultures. New Zealanders tend to be very persistent, you know? And Australians are quite happy-go-lucky, so I've got kind of a combination of the two things."---Russell Crowe in Empire, December 1997.
"I like certain parts of America, and there are plenty of places where I'd take my boots off, no problem," he says. "But I don't like the pervasive desire within this business to make you move into the office with them. It makes them feel better. It is like, 'We have the money.' That is the very reason I have no desire to go and roll my swag there. I think it's really unhealthy to live in Los Angeles full time. But it is kind of fun these days to pop in and see these freaks." His formula for dealing with hype seems as straightforward as the rest of him. "I've got to keep my life apart from Hollywood, mate," he says. "I am committed to acting and get great satisfaction from it. But I don't take it too seriously, and realise that it is not rocket science."---From the London Times, March 5, 2000.
"It's all driven by intelligence, really, and Russell's particularly bright. Therefore you'd better know all your answers before you go and work with him. Otherwise he'll put you under pressure. That's his style. He likes to research the living daylights out of everything, so it's competitive, which is interesting because in a way it kind of sets the pace."---On the actor's reputation of being prickly "Gladiator" director Ridley Scott told The Sydney Morning Herald, March 2, 2002.
"Straight up and down, it can be very restricting. A lot of things in life have to adjust. But it's not going to fundamentally change me. It's not going to change my passion for the job. I may end up doing less work but that's really got to do with how much is required of me at this juncture. ..."---Russell Crowe on fame quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald, March 2, 2002.
On June 24, 2002, two men were acquitted in an Australian court of blackmailing Crowe with a videotape of him brawling in a bar. The judge ruled that though the men were thinking of ways to make money on the tape, they never directly threatened Crowe.
"I don't use my 'celebrity' to make a living. I don't do ads for suits in Spain like George Clooney. To me it's sacrilegious, it's a complete contradition of the contract you have with your audience."---Crowe to GQ, March 2005.
On June 6, 2005, Russell Crowe was charged with one count of second-degree assault after he was arrested for allegedly hitting a hotel employee in the face with a telephone during an argument over a faulty phone in his room.
