Source: Entertainment Weekly
December 22 - 29, 2000
Russell Crowe
by Clarissa Cruz
Photos by Yariv Milchan
Much like his brooding alter ego in the summer blockbuster Gladiator, Russell Crowe, 36, just wants to go home. "I'm sitting here [in] a hotel room in Los Angeles on what, the fifth day of December? I've slept 21 nights on the farm [in his native Australia] this year since January 1st," he sighs. "It's just been very busy, and I'm hoping that things, once I get home, settle down a bit."
Don't count on it, mate. Since he unleashed hell on moviegoers with his muscular, sword brandishing star turn as Maximus in the $187 million-grossing epic, Crowe has found himself at the center of a swirling maelstrom of public fascination. Gladiator was only one vehicle in the star's multi-chariot pop-culture ride during year 2000: Whether his was waddling his way to an Oscar Nomination as a pudgy, morally conflicted whistle-blower in The Insider, barking out rock lyrics in Austin as the swaggering frontman for 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, or turning in a skillfully controlled performance as a gruff kidnapping expert in Proof of Life (not to mention dodging paparazzi around the globe once l'affaire Ryan broke), the strapping, gravel-voiced actor thrilled a Colosseum full of onlookers.
The secret? "I don't know, mate. Luck?" says Crowe, who also drew stellar reviews for 1993's Romper Stomper and 1997's L. A. Confidential. "I don't have any rules. Every single job is completely different, every single character is completely different -- the only thing I've probably learned over the years is that I'm not objective when it comes to my own work." Then let's give Proof director Taylor Hackford a shot at it. "He possesses this fantastic physical ability and at the same time, intense, intelligent acting ability. I think the world is open to him - there's no limit." Adds Proof costar David Caruso: "Once in a generation an actor will come along and set a benchmark for excellence that everybody else aspires to. He's the real thing."
He's even got the tabloid battle scars to prove it. At first, Crowe and Proof love interest Meg Ryan had managed to keep their romance under wraps. "There's a certain process that takes place on the set, when scenes were being shot, but to me that was just process," says Caruso. "And I didn't see anything personal going on." But when Ryan and husband Dennis Quaid announced their separation after nine years of marriage, the stage was set for a gossip-page siege that hasn't abated. Still, Crowe isn't one to get his toga in a bunch over the ruckus - - or get caught up in Hollywood star machinations. "I don't know if I was ever looking for this kind of success -- it came along as a by-product of concentration on what I was doing," says the actor, who'll next play a schizophrenic mathematician in Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind. "I have a thing that goes through my head, that if I do the best I can possible do on the day, any given day, on whatever job it is, then that's all I can actually do."
And as Maximus once bellowed, were we not entertained?
Source: The Daily Telegraph
December 22, 2004
Maximus celebrations
From Sydney Confidential
A year ago, Russell Crowe was nervously awaiting the birth of his son Charles at Sydney's Royal North Shore Private hospital.
Yesterday, happy father Crowe and wife Danielle Spencer celebrated Charles' birthday.
The Hollywood star was the epitome of a doting dad, pushing sleeping birthday boy Charles along in a pram while he and Danielle strolled together along Woolloomooloo Bay.
There's no doubt fatherhood agrees with Crowe, who rose to fame in tough-guy roles in films like Romper Stomper and L.A. Confidential.
"It was very hard to get the baby from him actually," Danielle's father Don Spencer said after Charles' birth.
"He got hold of it and we kept saying 'Is anyone else got a chance of holding this baby, Russell?' "
The Gladiator star has been genuinely happy to acknowledge others while out with Charles, who now bears a striking resemblance to his famous dad.
When not spending time preparing for his forthcoming role in Eucalyptus - a local film in which he will star with Nicole Kidman, Jack Thompson and Hugo Weaving - Crowe has enjoyed spending time with his family on a multi-million dollar motor yacht, Oceana, that he bought recently.
Crowe and Spencer yesterday hosted a small family celebration for Charles at their home.
editor's note: Russell stated after this was published that he did not own a yacht.
Source: Time magazine
December 22, 2005
Best of 2005: Richard Schickel's Best Movie Picks
Excerpt ~
9. Cinderella Man
The truish story of a down-and-out pug, Russell Crowe's James J. Braddock, who overcame injuries, dire, depression era poverty, and a lackluster record to become, briefly, the World's Heavyweight champion, Ron Howard's movie was the year's most notorious flop. But it was a good, tough, well-acted, beautifully designed and photographed movie, sentimental without being squishy, inspiring without being a tear-jerker and featuring honest, honorable performances by Crowe as well as by Renee Zellweger as Braddock's fierce, brave wife and Paul Giamatti as the wise-guy manager who stands by his unpromising man. In its way it is a hymn to the courage and good values of working class America, and that may not have appealed to modern, fat-and-happy Americans, but, forget that. Cinderella Man is a movie well worth taking to heart.
Source: The Movie Wiseguys
December 22, 2009
The Troy's Top Ten Films of the Decade
7. Cinderella Man
A deeply felt and emotional true story of the one of the greatest sports comebacks in history. When James J. Braddock, at one time a premier prize fighter, suffers a broken hand in the thicket of the Great Depression, he nearly loses everything. After some hefty lifting down on the Hoboken docks strengthens his hand, Braddock finds himself back in the ring, though this time fighting for more than just victory, fueled by something more than mere competition. His unrelenting pride is in the ring for his family. Russell Crowe turns in one of the most unrewarded performances I've ever seen. He's nothing short of brilliant. His presence of dominating and his only competition is in the inspirational performance by Paul Giamatti who plays Jim Gould, Braddock's coach, personal trainer and friend, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Renee Zellweger, Craig Bierko, Paddy Considine and Bruce McGill also turn in worthy performances in one of the best told stories of perseverance. When America was on its knees, he brought us to our feet.
3. Gladiator
Maximus, one of Rome's greatest and most powerful Generals and loyal servant to the dying emperor Marcus Aurelius, is betrayed and the emperor's cruel and corrupt son Commodus orders Maximus and his family to be executed. Maximus escapes, though not in time to save his family, and assumes the identity of "Gladiator" an anonymous fighter in the Roman Colosseum where he seeks revenge for his families death and to bring Rome back to her true self. Russell Crowe as Maximus and Joaquin Phoenix as Commodus is one of the great duels in cinema and both equally extraordinary. Though Russell Crowe won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Maximus, with an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor Joaquin Phoenix cements himself as one of the great villainous characters in recent memory. Gladiator went on to win 5 Academy Awards including Best Picture and remains one of the most ferocious and entertaining films ever.
