One of the more enduring actors of the modern era is without a doubt, Russell Crowe. In his decades-long career, he has appeared in a wide range of outstanding movies and TV shows and won a number of valuable accolades, including an Oscar for his iconic performance in Gladiator.
Here are 20 facts about this mysterious star that you may not be aware of.
1. He Once Carelessly Hurled a Telephone at A Hotel Staff.
In an Effort to Avoid Difficulty and Restore His Somewhat Damaged Reputation, Crowe Has Reportedly Kept a Quieter Profile Recently. Back in 2005, After Hurling a Hotel Phone at A Mercer Hotel Employee in New York City, Crowe Received a Lot of Attention.
Evidently, Crowe’s Violent Outburst Was Brought on By the Staffer Telling Him that The Phone Was Broken. The Hotel Employee Was Harmed During the Altercation and Was Taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital to Receive Medical Attention for Their Wounds.
Crowe Was Finally Charged with Felony Assault and 4th Degree Criminal Possession of A Weapon Despite the Actor’s Legal Team Claiming that He Tossed the Phone Against a Wall. Since then, Crowe Has Described the Scenario as “the Most Embarrassing Circumstance I’ve Ever Found Myself In.”
2. He Declared He Would “murder [the Gladiator Producer] with My Bare Hands.”
The Phone Incident Wasn’t an Isolated Occurrence. Evidently, Crowe Has a Well-Deserved Reputation for Having a Short Fuse Both on And Off the Set.
Curtis Hanson, the Director of La Confidential, Went so Far as To Say in 2010 to Variety that “Russell Has a Reputation of Being Unpleasant.” Additionally, There Are Tales Regarding Crowe’s Conduct on The Gladiator Set that Don’t Paint the Actor in The Best Possible Light.
Branko Lustig, the Film’s Producer, Reportedly Received a Late-Night Phone Call from Crowe Threatening to Kill Him “with [his] Bare Hands” if He Didn’t Comply with All of Crowe’s Demands on The Set.
Lustig Was Horrified and Phoned Dream Works President Stephen Spielberg Right Away to Request to Leave the Production.
The Actual Words Lustig Spoke Were “steven, I’m Quitting,” According to Nicole La Porte’s Book The Men Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and A Company Called Dream Works. Russell Desires to Murder Me. I’m Going Away.
3. He Used to Receive Hoax Calls from Michael Jackson
Every Time Crowe Stayed at A Hotel for Years, He Would Be the Victim of Sly Prank Calls. Typically, the Hoax Caller Would Contact Crowe, Impersonate the Hotel Manager, and Complain that Something Was Wrong with His Hotel Room.
Surprisingly, the Jokester Was None Other than Michael Jackson, Who Was Then the King of Pop. Crowe Discussed These Bizarre Phone Calls in Greater Detail During an Appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2016.
He Developed the Habit of Calling the Hotel Wherever I Was Staying and Asking for My Room While Using Silly Voices, the Man Claimed.
I’ve Never Met Him, He Said. “the Point Is, I Didn’t Want to Sound Crazy with The First Handful of People I Mentioned It To. However, Those Who Were Familiar with Him Would Say, “yeah, He Does that All the Time.”
4. Gladiator’s First Draught Was so Terrible that Producers Were Afraid to Even Present It to Crowe.
Gladiator Is Currently Regarded as One of The Greatest Films to Come out Of the Twenty-First Century.
However, the Movie Might Have Failed Because, According to Crowe, the Producers Didn’t Want Him to View the First Draught of The Script Before It Was Altered.
In 2020, Crowe Remarked on The Tonight Show, “the Producer Did Not Know I Was Able to Already Have a Copy, but The Thing He Said Was, “i Don’t Want to Send You the Document We Have Because You Won’t Reply to It.”
Instead, a Meeting Was Set up Between Crowe and The Filmmaker Ridley Scott, at Which Scott Gave Crowe the Plot Summary of The Movie.
Crowe Was so Pacified by Scott’s Explanations of The Plot, Graphics, and Other Elements that He Agreed to Play the Starring Part of Maximus.
Thankfully, Gladiator Continues to Rank Among Russell Crowe’s Highest-Grossing Movies of All Time.
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5. He Was Missing a Front Tooth for Years.
When Crowe Was Younger, He Played Rugby, Which Led to A Minor Injury at Age 10. Crowe Lost His Front Teeth During a Crucial Game, an Incident that Might Have Had a Lasting Negative Effect on His Career.
Crowe Was Able to Get by And Find Work on Several Little Movies when He First Began His Acting Career.
But at The Age of 25, He Got His Big Break when He Was Cast in The Crossing. When George Ogilvie, the Director of The Movie, Inquired About Crowe’s Missing Teeth, Crowe Said that He Had Never Had the Money to Fix Them.
Then Ogilvie Graciously Reached Into His Own Pocket and Paid Crowe to Restore His Teeth.
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6 . Due to A Misunderstanding, He Declined the Part of Wolverine.
In a 2017 Interview with News.Com.Au, Crowe Explained Why He Declined the Role of Wolverine. If You Recall, Maximus [from Gladiator] Has a Wolf at The Centre of His Cuirass, and He Has a Wolf as His Friend at The Start of The Movie, He Remarked.
I Declined Because I Didn’t Want to Be “wolfy the General” and Then “wolfy the Other Bloke,” Like Now I’m Mr. Wolfman and I Can Only Do Movies that Have Anything to Do with Wolves, Which I Believed Was Going to Be a Larger Deal [at the Time].”
Due to A Miscommunication, It Appears that Crowe Declined the Part Because Wolverines Are Not the Same as Wolves.
Hugh Jackman Disclosed that This Was the Second Time He Had Been Offered a Part that Russell Crowe Had Declined. the Actor Recalled how He Won the Role of Wolverine in 2020 and Said, “Russell Turned It Down.”
“That’s the Second Part I’ve Been Offered that Russell Has Declined. He’s Treated Me Quite Well, Russ. Australia Was the Other.