Russel Crowe

Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor. He was born in New Zealand, spent ten years of his childhood in Australia, and moved there permanently at age twenty one. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the epic historical film '' Gladiator'' (2000), for which he won an Academy Award, Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, Empire Award, and London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Leading Actor, along with 10 other nominations in the same category.

Crowe's other award-winning performances include tobacco firm whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand in the drama film '' The Insider'' (1999) and mathematician John Forbes Nash Jr. in the biopic '' A Beautiful Mind'' (2001). He has also starred in films such as the drama ''Romper Stomper'' (1992), the mystery-detective thriller '' L.A. Confidential'' (1997), the epic war film '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' (2003), the biographical boxing drama '' Cinderella Man'' (2005), the Western '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007), the crime drama '' American Gangster'' (2007), the thriller-drama '' State of Play'' (2009), and ''Robin Hood'' (2010).

Crowe later starred in the musical drama ''Les Misérables'' (2012), as Jor-El in the superhero epic '' Man of Steel'' (2013), the biblical fantasy drama '' Noah'' (2014), the action comedy ''The Nice Guys'' (2016), portrayed Zeus Panhellenios in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film '' Thor: Love and Thunder'' (2022), and will star in the upcoming Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) film ''Kraven the Hunter'' (2023). In 2014, he made his directorial debut with the drama ''The Water Diviner'', in which he also starred. He has earned various accolades, including a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, two Golden Globe Awards, a British Academy Film Award, and an Academy Award out of three consecutive nominations (1999, 2000, and 2001). He has been the co-owner of the National Rugby League (NRL) team South Sydney Rabbitohs since 2006.

Early life

Crowe was born in the Wellington suburb of Strathmore Park on 7 April 1964, the son of film set caterers Jocelyn Yvonne (née Wemyss) and John Alexander Crowe. His father also managed a hotel. His maternal grandfather, Stan Wemyss, was a cinematographer who was appointed an MBE for filming footage of World War II as a member of the New Zealand Film Unit. Crowe is Māori, and identifies with Ngāti Porou through one of his maternal great-great-grandmothers. His paternal grandfather, John Doubleday Crowe, was a Welsh man from Wrexham, while another of his grandparents was Scottish. His other ancestry includes English, German, Irish, Italian, Norwegian, and Swedish. He is a cousin of former New Zealand national cricket captains Martin and Jeff Crowe, and the nephew of cricketer Dave Crowe.

When Crowe was four years old, his family moved to Australia and settled in Sydney, where his parents pursued their career in film set catering. His mother's godfather was the producer of the Australian TV series ''Spyforce'', and Crowe was hired for a line of dialogue in one episode of the series at age five or six, opposite series star Jack Thompson. Later, in 1994, Thompson would play the father of Crowe's character in '' The Sum of Us''. Crowe also appeared briefly in the serial ''The Young Doctors''. In Australia, he was educated at Vaucluse Public School and Sydney Boys High School, before his family moved back to New Zealand in 1978 when he was 14. He continued his secondary education at Auckland Grammar School, with his cousins and brother Terry, and Mount Roskill Grammar School before leaving school at the age of 16 to pursue his acting ambitions.

Acting career

New Zealand

Under guidance from his good friend Tom Sharplin, Crowe began his performing career as a musician in the early 1980s performing under the stage name "Russ Le Roq". He released several New Zealand singles including "I Just Wanna Be Like Marlon Brando", "Pier 13", and "Shattered Glass", none of which charted. He managed an Auckland music venue called "The Venue" in 1984. When he was 18, he was featured in ''A Very Special Person...'', a promotional video for the theology/ ministry course at Avondale University, a Seventh-day Adventist tertiary education provider in New South Wales, Australia.

Australia

Crowe left New Zealand and returned to Australia at the age of 21, intending to apply to the National Institute of Dramatic Art. He said, "I was working in a theatre show, and talked to a guy who was then the head of technical support at NIDA. 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, in a New Zealand production of ''The Rocky Horror Show''. He played the role of Eddie/Dr Scott. He repeated this performance in a further Australian production of the show, which also toured New Zealand. In 1987, Crowe spent six months busking 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 in the role of Johnny, in the stage musical ''Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom'' in 1989.

After appearing in the TV series '' Neighbours'' and ''Living with the Law,'' Crowe was cast by Faith Martin in his first film, '' The Crossing'' (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 1990 film '' Blood Oath'' (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.'' Also in 1992, Crowe starred in ''Romper Stomper'', an Australian film which followed the exploits and downfall of a racist skinhead group in blue-collar suburban Melbourne, directed by Geoffrey Wright and co-starring Jacqueline McKenzie. For the role, Crowe won an Australian Film Institute (AFI) award for Best Actor, following up from his Best Supporting Actor award for '' Proof'' in 1991. In 2015, it was reported that Crowe had applied for Australian citizenship in 2006 and again in 2013 but was rejected because he failed to fulfill the residency requirements. However, Australia's Immigration Department said it had no record of any such application by Crowe.

North America

After initial success in Australia, Crowe first starred in a Canadian production in 1993, '' For the Moment'', before concentrating on American films. He co-starred with Denzel Washington in ''Virtuosity'' (the duo later appearing together in '' American Gangster'') and with Sharon Stone in '' The Quick and the Dead'' in 1995. He went on to become a three-time Oscar nominee, winning the Academy Award as Best Actor in 2000 for '' Gladiator''. Crowe was awarded the (Australian) Centenary Medal in 2001 for "service to Australian society and Australian film production."

Crowe received three consecutive best actor Oscar nominations, for ''The Insider'', ''Gladiator'', and '' A Beautiful Mind''. Crowe won the best actor award for ''A Beautiful Mind'' at the 2002 BAFTA award ceremony, as well as the Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for the same performance. Although nominated for an Academy Award, he lost to Denzel Washington. All three films were also nominated for Best Picture, and both ''Gladiator'' and ''A Beautiful Mind'' won the award. Crowe became the first actor to star as the lead in back-to-back Best Picture winners since Walter Pidgeon (who starred in ''How Green Was My Valley'' and ''Mrs. Miniver'').

Within the six-year stretch from 1997 to 2003, he also starred in two other best picture nominees, '' L.A. Confidential'' and '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World''. In 2005, he re-teamed with ''A Beautiful Mind'' director Ron Howard for the biographical boxing drama '' Cinderella Man''. In 2006, he re-teamed with ''Gladiator'' director Ridley Scott for ''A Good Year'', the first of two consecutive collaborations (the second being ''American Gangster'' co-starring again with Denzel Washington, released in late 2007). Although 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 1998, however, maintains constant accretion. Crowe appeared in ''Robin Hood'', a film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and released on 14 May 2010.
Crowe starred in the 2010 Paul Haggis film ''The Next Three Days'', an adaptation of the 2008 French film ''Pour Elle''.

After a year off from acting, Crowe played Jackknife in ''The Man with the Iron Fists'', opposite RZA. He took on the role of Javert in the musical film of ''Les Misérables'' (2012), and portrayed Superman's biological father, Jor-El, in the Christopher Nolan-produced film, '' Man of Steel'', released in the summer of 2013. In 2014, he played a gangster in the film adaptation of Mark Helprin's 1983 novel ''Winter's Tale'', and the title role in the Darren Aronofsky film '' Noah''. In June 2013, Crowe signed to make his directorial debut with an historical drama film ''The Water Diviner'', which he also starred in alongside Jacqueline McKenzie, Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney. Set in the year 1919, the film was produced by Troy Lum, Andrew Mason and Keith Rodger. Crowe also starred in '' The Mummy'' (2017). Crowe portrayed Zeus in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film '' Thor: Love and Thunder'', which was released on July 8, 2022. He portrays the famous exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth in ''The Pope's Exorcist'' (2023).

Music

In the 1980s, Crowe, 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 (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 in Austin, Texas. In 2001, the band toured in the U.S. with dates in Austin, Boulder, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco, Hollywood, Philadelphia, New York City and the last show at The Stone Pony's tape-delayed broadcast, Crowe used strong language during an argument with producer Malcolm Gerrie. The part cut was a Patrick Kavanagh poem in tribute to actor Richard Harris, which 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 in 2002, Crowe was alleged to have been involved in a brawl with businessman Eric Watson inside the London branch of Zuma, a Japanese restaurant chainthe fight was broken up by English actor Ross Kemp.

In June 2005, Crowe was arrested and charged with second-degree assault by the NYPD after he threw a telephone at the concierge of the Mercer Hotel who had refused to help him place a call when the system did not work from Crowe's room. He was also charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon (the telephone). The concierge was treated for a facial laceration. After his arrest, Crowe underwent a perp walk, a procedure customary in New York City, exposing the handcuffed suspect to the news media to take pictures. This procedure was under discussion as potentially violating Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Crowe later described the incident as "possibly the most shameful situation that I've ever gotten myself in". Crowe pleaded guilty and was conditionally discharged. Before the trial, he 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 reported.

The telephone incident had a generally negative impact on Crowe's public image, an example of negative public relations in the mass media, although Crowe had made a point of befriending Australian journalists in an effort to influence his image. The '' South Park'' episode "The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer" revolves around a lampooning of his aggressive tendencies. Crowe commented on the ongoing media coverage in November 2010, during an interview with American television talk show host and journalist Charlie Rose: "I think it indelibly changed me. It was a very, very minor situation that was made into something outrageous. More violence perpetuated me walking between the car to the courtroom with the waiting media than anything I'd done ... it very definitely affected me ... psychologically."

Sport

Rugby league

He has been the co-owner of the National Rugby League (NRL) team South Sydney Rabbitohs since 2006. Crowe has been a supporter of the rugby league football team the South Sydney Rabbitohs since childhood. After 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 of the 1990s, he made an attempt to use his Hollywood connections to convince Ted Turner, a rival of Super League's Rupert Murdoch, to save the Rabbitohs before they were forced from the NRL competition for two years. In 1999, Crowe paid $42,000 at auction for the brass bell used to open the inaugural rugby league match in Australia in 1908 at a fundraiser 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'' on their jerseys.
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 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 ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' to announce that Firepower International was sponsoring the South Sydney Rabbitohs for $3 million over three years. During a ''Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' appearance, 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 at the University of North Florida, in Jacksonville, Florida, between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the 2007 Super League Grand Final winners the Leeds Rhinos on 26 January 2008 (Australia Day). Crowe told ITV Local 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 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 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'', which he was filming in Britain at the time.

Crowe's influence helped to persuade noted player Greg Inglis to renege on his deal to join the Brisbane Broncos and sign for the Rabbitohs for 2011.
In 2010, the NRL was investigating Crowe's business relationships with a number of media and entertainment companies including Channel Nine, Channel Seven, ANZ Stadium and V8 Supercars in relation to the South Sydney Rabbitohs' salary cap.

In 2011, 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.
In May 2011, Crowe helped arrange to have Fox broadcast the 2011 State of Origin series live for the first time in the United States, in addition to the NRL Grand Final.
In November 2012 the South Sydney Rabbitohs confirmed that Russell Crowe was selling his 37.5 per cent stake in the club.
At the Rabbitohs Annual General Meeting on 3 March 2013, Chairman Nick Pappas claimed Crowe "would not be selling his shareholding in the short-to-medium term and at this stage has no intention of selling at all".

Crowe was a guest presenter at the 2013 Dally M Awards and presented the prestigious Dally M Medal to winner Cooper Cronk. Russell was present at the 2014 NRL Grand Final when the Rabbitohs won the NRL premiership for the first time in 43 years.

Other sporting interests

Two of his cousins, Martin Crowe and Jeff Crowe, captained the New Zealand national cricket team.

Crowe watches and plays cricket, and captained the 'Australian' Team containing Steve Waugh against an English side in the 'Hollywood Ashes' Cricket Match. On 17 July 2009, Crowe took to the commentary box for British sports channel Sky Sports as the 'third man' during the second Test of the 2009 Ashes series, between England and Australia.

Crowe is a fan of the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team.

He is friends with Lloyd Carr, the former coach of the University of Michigan Wolverines American football team, and Carr used Crowe's movie '' Cinderella Man'' to motivate his 2006 team following a 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, which Carr did the following summer. In September 2007, after Carr came under fire following the Wolverines' 0–2 start, Crowe travelled to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the Wolverines' 15 September game against Notre Dame to show his support for Carr. He addressed the team before the game and watched from the sidelines as the Wolverines defeated the Irish 38–0.
Crowe is also a fan of the National Football League. On 22 October 2007, Crowe appeared in the booth of a Monday night game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

He is also a fan of Leeds United and narrated the ''Take us Home: Leeds United'' Amazon Prime documentary.

Filmography and awards

Crowe's most acclaimed and highest-grossing films, according to the online portal Box Office Mojo and the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, include '' L.A. Confidential'' (1997), '' The Insider'' (1999), '' Gladiator'' (2000), '' A Beautiful Mind'' (2001), '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' (2003), '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007), '' State of Play'' (2009), ''Robin Hood'' (2010), ''Les Misérables'' (2012), '' Man of Steel'' (2013), '' Noah'' (2014), ''The Nice Guys'' (2016), '' The Mummy'' (2017), and '' Thor: Love and Thunder'' (2022).

Crowe won an Academy Award in the Best Actor category for his performance in ''Gladiator'', and has been nominated two more times for Best Actor for ''The Insider'' and ''A Beautiful Mind'', making him the ninth actor to have received three consecutive Academy Award nominations. He won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama for ''A Beautiful Mind'' and Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film for ''The Loudest Voice'' (2019); He has been nominated four more times: Best Actor in a Drama for ''The Insider'', ''Gladiator'', ''Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'', and '' Cinderella Man''.

See also

* List of NRL club owners
*Russell Crowe's jockstrap

References

External links

*
* with stv.tv, November 2007
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crowe, Russell
1964 births
20th-century New Zealand male actors
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21st-century New Zealand male singers
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Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners
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