Constant Crowe - A True Star

DECCAN HERALD Sunday, April 28, 2002

A true star

Russell Crowe possesses a ruggedness that has served him well in the roles
he has portrayed. IAN EDWARDS profiles the actor

The spotlight first fell on Russell Crowe with his intensely-charismatic performance as the tightly-coiled avenger, detective Bud White in LA Confidential (1997). Next followed an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of tobacco whistle-blower Jeffrey Wigand in The Insider, a role that was emotionally draining. How many 30-something actors are willing to play a balding, bloated 53-year-old in glasses? In 2000, he had his biggest hit in the title role of Gladiator with an Oscar to boot as Best Actor.

No one expected the film to be such a hit (grossing more than 100 million dollars at the box-office) since this particular genre was virtually archaic by the mid-60's. What was at the heart of Ridley Scott's Gladiator was humanity behind the actor, the soul in the machinery. Amid the artillery and severed body parts whizzing around in the digitally mastered coliseum was Crowe's wounded heroism that stole the show. Crowe went so far into the molten core of his character that he seemed to be single-handedly reinventing the great tradition of method acting.

Not conventionally handsome but possessing a ruggedness that has served him well in the roles he has portrayed, the 37-year old Crowe's film/stage experience is vast, having begun as a child actor at the age of six. Born in New Zealand, he was raised in Australia and was the darling of many art-house films there. Prisoners of the Sun, The Crossing, Proof, For the Moment, Love in Limbo, besides playing on stage in Grease and The Rocky Horror Show. His TV series include: Young Doctor, Police Rescue and Brides of Christ. His resume also includes spearheading a 'blues and rock band’ (he sings and plays the guitar) since the age of 14, and the group has since recorded a few albums. He made his American debut in the neo-spaghetti Western The Quick and the Dead (1995) with Sharon Stone, and, since then, he has been in Virtuosity, Rough Magic, No Way Back, Heaven's Burning, Breaking Up, Mystery Alaska, among others.

A fanatic where film roles are concerned, he transforms himself with seamless changeability. He invests so much conviction, physical energy and emotional skill into his roles that his performances are often far superior to the material assigned to him.

American movies desperately needs a star like Russell Crowe: a strong, silent type who can act. He has the subtlety and intelligence to play heroes who are recognisable human being. You could very well imagine him in Montgomery Cliff's role in From Here To Eternity, or even Marlon Brando in On the Waterfront.

Crowe is being courted for several plum projects at a touted fee of over 15 million dollars per film. These include: 33 Liberty Street, a drama about a wannabe mobster who tries to crack the big time by pulling a heist; Flora Plum in which he plays a circus performer with Jody Foster and Claire Danes; and North of Cheyenne.

The year 2002 scored a triple triumph for Russell Crowe: For his depiction of a Nobel Prize-winning mathematics professor, John F Nash Jr whose brilliant mind succumbs to schizophrenia in A Beautiful Mind, he won the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild Award and an Oscar nomination in the category of Best Dramatic Actor. Sadly, he lost the Oscar to Denzel Washington (Training Day).

Summing up his inordinate versatility, a director said: "No part he has played has followed obviously from the one before. With each film he seems to withdraw anew to the periphery, only to return to the centre again. What unites his film roles is a mood, a voice. Or rather two voices - one of rage, one of apology. The power of his performance lies in a tenderness for human weakness, an understanding of people's frailty."

(Thanks to Darcy for providing this article)