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Wikipedia
Russell Ira Crowe (born April 7, 1964) is a New Zealand-born naturalized, Australian actor and musician.[1] His acting career began in the late 1980s with roles in Australian TV series includingPolice Rescue and Neighbours. In the early 1990s, Crowe's prominence grew significantly through winning an Australian Film Industry Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of an inner-city skinhead in the Geoffrey Wright film, Romper Stomper. In the late 1990s, Crowe turned his acting attention to the USA with his breakout role coming via L.A. Confidential. He has been nominated for three Oscars, and in 2001, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his starring role in the film Gladiator. He also won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role for A Beautiful Mind. Crowe is also co-owner of National Rugby League team the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
Early life
Crowe was born on April 7, 1964 in Wellington, New Zealand, the son of Jocelyn Yvonne (née Wemyss) and John Alexander Crowe,[2] both of whom were movie set caterers; his father also managed a hotel.[3] 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,[2] and his paternal grandfather was from Wrexham, Wales;[4] Crowe also has Scottish and Norwegian ancestry.[2][5] Two of his cousins, Martin and Jeff Crowe, are formerNew Zealand national cricket captains.
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 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 (in 1994 Thompson played Crowe's father in The Sum of Us. He had been educated at the same school which Crowe was to attend for two years: Sydney Boys High School). Crowe also appeared briefly in serial The Young Doctors.
When he was 14, Crowe's family moved back to New Zealand, where he (along with his brother Terry) attended Auckland Grammar Schoolwith cousins Martin Crowe and Jeff Crowe. He then continued his secondary education at Mount Roskill Grammar School, which he left at age 16 to chase his dreams of becoming a musician or actor. A classmate and friend from that time, John Maloney, remembers Crowe as a "sombre, misshapen" boy who was "frequently shirtless and even more frequently sans culottes".
[edit]Career
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.[6] He managed an Auckland music venue called "The Venue" in the mid '80s.[7]
In 1986 to 1988 he was given his first professional role by director Daniel Abineri in a 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. In the 1988 Australian production of Blood Brothers, Crowe played the role of Mickey.[8] 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.
Crowe returned to Australia at age 21, intending to apply to the National Institute of Dramatic Art. "I was working in a theatre show, and talked to a guy who was then the head of technical support at NIDA," Crowe 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.'"[9] In 1987 Crowe spent six-months busking when he couldn't find other work.[10]
After appearing in the TV series Neighbours and Living with the Law, Crowe was cast 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 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. Also in 1992 Crowe starred in Romper Stomper, an Australian film which follows the exploits and downfall of a racist skinhead group in blue-collar suburban Melbourne, directed by Geoffrey Wright, for which Crowe won an Australian Film Institute (AFI) award for Best Actor, following up from his Best Supporting Actor award for Proof in 1991.
[edit]Hollywood
After initial success in Australia, Crowe began acting in American films. He first co-starred with Denzel Washington in Virtuosity, and withSharon 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 2001 for Gladiator. Crowe was awarded the (Australian) Centenary Medal in 2001 for "service to Australian society and Australian film production."[11]
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. However he failed to win the Oscar that year, losing to Denzel Washington. It has been suggested that his attack on television producer Malcolm Gerrie for cutting short his acceptance speech[12] may have turned voters against him.[13]
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 and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, though he was nominated for neither. In 2005 he re-teamed with A Beautiful Mind director Ron Howard for 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). 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.[14]
On 9 March 2005, Crowe revealed to GQ magazine that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents had approached him prior to the 73rd Academy Awards on 25 March 2001 and told him that the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda wanted to kidnap him. Crowe told the magazine that it was the first time he had ever heard of al-Qaeda (the 11 September attacks took place later that year) and was quoted as saying:
- "You get this late-night call from the FBI when you arrive in Los Angeles, and they're, like, absolutely full-on. 'We’ve got to talk to you now before you do anything. We have to have a discussion with you, Mr Crowe.'" Crowe recalled that "it was something to do with some recording picked up by a French policewoman, I think, in either Libya or Algiers...it was about taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural-destabilisation plan".[15]
Crowe was guarded by Secret Service agents for the next few months, both while shooting films and at award ceremonies (Scotland Yardalso guarded Crowe while he was promoting Proof of Life in London in February 2001).[citation needed]
Crowe appeared in Robin Hood, a film based on the Robin Hood legend, directed by Ridley Scott and released on May 14, 2010.[16]
Crowe starred in the 2010 Paul Haggis film The Next Three Days, an adaptation of the 2008 French film Pour Elle.[17]
[edit]Music
Crowe, going under the name of "Rus le Roq", recorded a 1980s tune titled "I Want To Be Like Marlon Brando".[18]
In the '80s, Crowe and friend Billy Dean Cochran formed a band, "Roman Antix", which later evolved into the Australian rock band 30 Odd Foot of Grunts (TOFOG for short). Crowe performed lead vocals and guitar for the band, which formed in 1992. The band released 1995's The Photograph Kills EP as well as three full length records, 1998's Gaslight, 2001's Bastard Life or Clarity and 2003's Other Ways of Speaking. 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 Russell Crowe feeling his future music would take a new direction and he began a collaboration with Alan Doyle of the Canadian band Great Big Sea, 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 ofGladiator.
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 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.
In May 2011 there are plans to release a new Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God recording (co-written with Alan Doyle) and for a US Tour which would be the first live dates in the US since 2006.
[edit]Philanthropy
During location filming of Cinderella Man, Crowe made a donation to a Jewish elementary schoolwhose library had been damaged as a result of arson.[19] A note with an anti-Semitic message had been left at the scene.[20] Crowe called school officials to express his concern and wanted his message relayed to the students.[21] The school’s building fund received donations from throughout Canada and the amount of Crowe’s donation was not disclosed.[22]
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."
[edit]Personal life
From his youth to the present, Crowe has had a special love of horses. "They're just like people," he told CraveOnline, "there are some horses that you have a deeper connection with immediately, and you can work on that over time."[23] He has also noted that he sometimes finds it difficult to part with his equine co-stars when a film wraps.
On 7 April 2003, his 39th birthday, Crowe married Australian singer and actress Danielle Spencer. Crowe met Spencer while filming The Crossing (1990). Crowe and Spencer have two sons: Charles "Charlie" Spencer (born 21 December 2003) and Tennyson Spencer (born 7 July 2006).
Prior to his marriage to Spencer, Crowe had a relationship with Meg Ryan during and after the filming of Proof of Life in 2000.
Most of the year, Crowe resides in Australia. He has a home in Sydney at the end of the Finger Wharf in Woolloomooloo and a 320-hectare rural property in Nana Glen near Coffs Harbour, New South Wales.
Crowe also owns a house in the North Queensland city of Townsville: he purchased the $450,000 home in the suburb of Douglas on 3 May 2008.[24] It's believed the home is for his niece, who is studying at James Cook University.[25]
Crowe stated in November 2007 that he would like to be baptised, 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."[26]
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, Cate Blanchett, and Nicole Kidman each appear twice in the series: once as themselves and once as theirAcademy Award-winning character.[27]
Crowe 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.[28]
[edit]Sport
[edit]South Sydney Rabbitohs
Crowe has been a supporter of the rugby league football team the South Sydney Rabbitohs 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 of the 1990s Crowe made an attempt to use his Hollywood connections to convince Ted Turner, rival of Super League's Rupert Murdoch, to save the Rabbitohs before they were forced from the National Rugby League competition for two years.[29] In 1999 Crowe paid A$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 inclusion in the League.[30] 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 movie Cinderella Man on their jerseys.[31]
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 and Burt Reynolds.
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.[32]
On 5 November 2006, Crowe appeared on Tonight Show with Jay Leno to announce that Firepower International was sponsoring the South Sydney Rabbitohs for $3 million over three years.[33] 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.[34]
Crowe helped to organise a rugby league game that took place in Jacksonville, Florida between the South Sydney Rabbitohs and the EnglishSuper League champions Leeds Rhinos on 26 January 2008 (Australia Day). The game was played at the University of North Florida.[35]Crowe told ITV Local Yorkshire the game wasn't a marketing exercise.[36]
Crowe wrote a letter of apology to a Sydney newspaper following the sacking of South Sydney's coach Jason Taylor and one of their playersDavid Fa'alogo after a drunken altercation between the two at the end of the 2009 NRL season.[37]
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 England at the time.[38]
In the 2010 post-season it was reported that Crowe's influence was critical in persuading Greg Inglis, one of the world's best players, to renege on his deal to join the Brisbane Broncos and sign for the Rabbitohs for 2011.[39]
On 5 December 2010 the Sunday Telegraph 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 was reported to be delving into Crowe's recent dealings with Channel Nine, Channel Seven, ANZ Stadium and V8 Supercars.[40]
[edit]Other sporting interests
In Soccer, Crowe acknowledged to be a fan of FC Barcelona, Bristol City and Leeds United.[41][42]
Crowe is a big cricket fan. He played cricket in school and his cousins Martin Crowe and Jeff Crowe are former Black Caps Captains. Russell Crowe also captained the 'Australian' Team containing Steve Waugh against an English side in the 'Hollywood Ashes' Cricket Match.[43] 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.[44]
He is also a fan of the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League[45] and a supporter of the Leeds Rhinos[citation needed] in theSuper League.
Crowe is a big supporter of the University of Michigan Wolverines American football team, an interest that stems from his friendship with former Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr. Carr used Crowe's movie Cinderella Man to motivate his team in 2006 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, an offer Carr took Crowe up on the following summer. In September 2007, after Carr came under fire following the Wolverines' 0–2 start, Crowe traveled 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, and on 22 October 2007, appeared in the booth of a Monday Night game between theIndianapolis Colts and the Jacksonville Jaguars.[46] He is also a devout fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs which stems from his shooting ofCinderella Man at Maple Leaf Gardens.
[edit]Altercations
Crowe has been involved in a number of altercations in recent years which have given him a reputation for having a bad temper.[47]
In 1999, Crowe was involved in a scuffle at the Plantation Hotel in Coffs Harbour, Australia, which was caught on security video.[48] Two men were acquitted of using the video in an attempt to blackmail Crowe.[49]
When part of Crowe's appearance at the 2002 BAFTA 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 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."[50]Later that year, Crowe was alleged to have been involved in a "brawl"[51] inside a trendy Japanese restaurant in London.[52] The fight was broken up by British television actor Ross Kemp.
In June 2005, Crowe was arrested and charged with second-degree assault by New York City police, 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).[53] The employee, a concierge, was treated for a facial laceration.[54] Crowe 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".[55] He was sentenced to conditional release. Prior to the plea bargain, Crowe settled a lawsuit filed by the concierge, Nestor Estrada.[56][57] Terms of the settlement were not disclosed but amounts in the six-figure range have been suggested.[58]
Crowe's altercations were lampooned in the South Park episode, The New Terrance and Phillip Movie Trailer.
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