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Famous Like Me > Actor > C > Russell Crowe

Profile of Russell Crowe on Famous Like Me

 
Name: Russell Crowe  
   
Also Know As:
   
Date of Birth: 7th April 1964
   
Place of Birth: Wellington, North Island, New Zealand
   
Profession: Actor
 
 
From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia
Russell Crowe

Russell Ira Crowe (born April 7, 1964) is an Oscar-winning film actor born in Wellington, New Zealand of Welsh, Norwegian and 1/16th Maori extraction. Two of his cousins, Martin and Jeff Crowe are former New Zealand cricket captains.

When he was four years old, his family moved to Australia where his parents pursued a career in filmset catering. He attended Sydney Boys High School. When he was fourteen, the family moved back to New Zealand, where he attend the Auckland Grammar School. He did not complete secondary school, leaving early to help his family financially.

After initial success in Australia, he began acting in American films in the 1990s; a three-time Oscar nominee, he won the Academy Award as Best Actor in 2001 for Gladiator, and he was also nominated for the Best Actor award for The Insider and A Beautiful Mind.

On April 7, 2003 (his 39th birthday), Crowe married his long-time love, Australian singer and actress Danielle Spencer. On December 21, 2003, their son Charles Spencer Crowe was born. He previously dated the American filmstar Meg Ryan, after they met whilst filming Proof of Life together.

He is a major supporter of the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team.

On March 9, 2005, Crowe revealed to GQ magazine that Federal Bureau of Investigation agents had approached him prior to the 73rd Academy Awards on March 25, 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 September 11 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-destabilization plan." Crowe was guarded by Secret Service agents for the next few months, both while shooting films and at award ceremonies (Scotland Yard also guarded Crowe while he was promoting Proof of Life in London in February 2001). Crowe said that he "never fully understood what the fuck was going on." The FBI confirmed Crowe's statement (which is uncharacteristic of the agency in that it usually does not comment to the media).

Temperament

 Russell Crowe, fighting 'round the world

Crowe has a reputation for bad temper and a predeliction for brawling. This was parodied in an episode of the cartoon South Park.

He won the Best Actor in the 2002 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards for his portrayal of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind. During the presentation for his award, he planned to read a piece of poetry called Sanctity by Patrick Kavanagh but was cut short to fit in the BBC's tape-delayed broadcast. At the awards after party, he accosted producer Malcolm Gerrie. Crowe later apologised for his actions, but many believe this incident was responsible for depriving Crowe of the Oscar for Best Actor that year. A Beautiful Mind won four of the five awards for which it was nominated, with the lone and conspicuous exception being Crowe's nomination for Best Actor.

In March 2002, musician Moby alleged that Crowe had shoved him against the wall of a toilet in a Sydney night club and incorrectly called him "American," but it was later revealed that Crowe was actually in Ecuador when the incident was alleged to have taken place.

The following month, a court heard charges against several men who were trying to sell a security tape featuring Crowe on the night of November 18, 1999 being involved in a melee, and later engaging in an argument with a couple.

In the early morning of June 6, 2005, Crowe was arrested and charged with second degree assault by New York Police, in connection with an incident at the Mercer Hotel, SoHo, New York, in which a broken telephone was thrown at the hotel front desk, striking a hotel employee. He was further charged with fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon i.e. the telephone.

Crowe released a statement saying he was jet-lagged, missing his family in Australia and became frustrated after having repeated difficulties making a phone call to his wife in Australia . The concierge, Nestor "Josh" Estrada, was treated for a facial laceration on his upper right cheek. A Crowe spokesperson has said a phone was thrown at a wall but no person was assaulted. Crowe has publically apologized to Estrada, saying the incident was a "low point in his life."

A court date is pending. His attorney is Gerald Lefcourt. In mid-August 2005, the Daily Mail reported that Crowe settled out of court with Estrada, agreeing to pay him $10.8 million in damages; the paper also reported that the NYPD will not pursue criminal charges against Crowe. Crowe's publicist later acknowledged that a deal had been reached, saying that "Both sides expressed satisfaction at the resolution." Australian tabloids claims that the true figure is about $100,000.

Music Career

Crowe is also a singer and composer. He was the lead singer and guitarist of an Australian pub rock band, 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts, which formed in 1992. The band had found neither critical or popular success but managed to release three albums: 1998's Gaslight, 2001's Bastard Life or Clarity and 2003's Other Ways of Speaking. It has now disbanded. He had also appeared at various times in New Zealand under the name Russ Le Roq.

Crowe has continued with his music, collaborating with Alan Doyle of the Canadian band, Great Big Sea, in early 2005. A new single, Raewyn, was released on April 19, 2005. Former members of his previous band have taken part in the new project. An album entitled My Hand, My Heart has been released for download on iTunes and includes a tribute song to the late actor, Richard Harris, who became a close friend when the two were making Gladiator.

Filmography

  • Neighbours (TV Show) (1987)
  • Prisoners of the Sun (1990)
  • The Crossing (1990)
  • Hammers Over the Anvil (1991)
  • Proof (1991)
  • The Efficiency Expert (1992)
  • Romper Stomper (1992)
  • For the Moment (1993)
  • Love in Limbo (1993)
  • The Silver Stallion: King of the Wild Brumbies (1993)
  • The Sum of Us (1994)
  • The Quick and the Dead (1995)
  • No Way Back (1995)
  • Virtuosity (1995)
  • Rough Magic (1995)
  • L.A. Confidential (1997)
  • Heaven's Burning (1997)
  • Breaking Up (1997)
  • Mystery, Alaska (1999)
  • The Insider (1999)
  • Gladiator (2000)
  • Proof of Life (2000)
  • A Beautiful Mind (2001)
  • Texas (2002) (documentary) (also director and producer)
  • 60 Odd Hours in Italy (2002) (short subject) (also director)
  • Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
  • Cinderella Man (2005)

This content from Wikipedia is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Russell Crowe