Crowe - Other actors' opinions of his talent

Here are other actors' opinions on Russell's talent. Please send in any you can find.
Anthony Hopkins in a Total Film interview on Russell: Interview with Anthony Hopkins in Total Film (UK) February 2006 -- One of the people I got to know years ago, which was a great privilege, was Laurence Olivier. He seemed to be like a racing driver as an actor. He was like a laser – that was his power. And the only actor I’ve met since who had that same quality of laser-like determination is Russell Crowe. You worked with Crowe right at the start of his career on an Australian film called Spotswood… The first day I started working with him, I thought, “That guys got it!” The best way to describe Russell is like a shark, he’s like a shark circling around. You could see it in the way he was figuring things out. Just before he became the big hit in LA Confidential, I was asked if I would do a film interview about him. They asked me about him, and I said, “Oh yeah, I could see it in him, he was different from the other guys.” He was argumentative. He argued with the director all the time. And I said to the director, “Listen to him, he’s got a point. He’s good – let him do it!” Did you see yourself as a younger man in Russell? Yeah, I did. There’s a photograph of me here from 1970 (pulls out photo). This young lady gave it to me and I looked at it and I thought, “I was a bad boy then.” I thought, “God, this is an unhappy camper, but…Boy! I’d take on anyone back then!” I don’t know Russell that well, but I admire him and, you know, whatever he’s got to do really. I really like him, because he’s ballsy, he’s got guts; he’s macho and all the rest of it. He’s going through his bad boy period, but he’s basically a nice guy.	NY Times - BOLDFACE NAMES March 14, 2001, Wednesday It's A.D. 180: It's Make-Believe Speaking as one gladiator about another, CHARLTON HESTON said yesterday that he is rooting for RUSSELL CROWE to win the Academy Award for best actor. ''He's very good,'' Mr. Heston declared during a stopover in New York to promote the release of ''Ben-Hur'' in... ****************************** Australian Herald Sun 1 March 2006 "As Heath Ledger prepares for his big Oscar night. Hollywood stars are asking - what about Russell Crowe? Two of Crowe's co-stars have come out swinging in support of the volatile Aussie, saying he and Ledger should both be up for best actor at next week's Academy Awards. Crowe's performance as boxer James Braddock in Cinderella Man was snubbed in nominations and co-star Paul Giamatti said yesterday he couldn't believe it. "I am sorry Russell didn't get nominated"said Giamatti, who is up for best supporting actor for his role as Crowe's trainer in the movie. "I am nothing in that movie without him" It has been rumoured Crowe's phone throwing tantrum in New York last year had outraged Academy voters and cost him a nomination. British actor Paul Bettany who starred with Crowe in the Oscar winning film A Beautiful Mind and Master & Commander,said he's be appalled if Crowe's bad boy reputation had cost him a nomination. **************************** Paul Giamatti seven.com.au/news/entertainment/108896 "People say he's an intimidating guy and stuff like that," Giamatti said. "I suppose he is, but it's his talent that makes him intimidating more than anything else."It was way better than I expected."I mean, it's the best experience I've ever had working with another actor. He's the best actor I think I've ever worked with."No, he's definitely the best actor I've ever worked with." ****************************** Renee Zellweger on Working With Russell CINDERELLA MAN Sydney Sunday Magazine, Nov 7, 2004 "He's very talented, and he also takes his work very seriously in terms of the lengths he will go to create a believable character. He's very determined too, and Russell really lives his characters." ******************************************** femail UK - Jennifer Connelly: As for working with her Oscar winning co-star, Connelly was impressed by the actor's much publicized intensity on the set. "I appreciated that. He doesn't let you take anything for granted. He's also very spontaneous and available as an actor, which I think is great. You just have to be able to be there and enjoy that kind of work which I really do."
A BEAUTIFUL MINDPaul Bettany on Working With RussellPhilly After MidnightWPVI-TV, ABC, Channel 6Wednesday, April 25, 2001Host - Wally Kennedy WK: I want you all to meet Paul Bettany. He's been running around Princeton making 'A Beautiful Mind' with Russell Crowe. Tell me about... Russell Crowe. Before he won the Oscar, was there tension? Do you think he was nervous and pensive? Or does he get nervous about anything?PB: I don't think he gets nervous. He doesn't seem to have nerves. He was so calm. He was annoyingly humble about the whole thing. I would have been running around naked with my Oscar saying, "I've got an Oscar, and you haven't!"WK: Did he bring the Oscar to the set?PB: No, nothing so gauche! He showed me the Oscar because I wanted to see it. Novody else would touch it because they thought it would bring them bad luck. But I was kind of like (motioning like he's grabbing the Oscar) I'm never gonna get one of these fellas!WK: You know what I wonder... there are certain guys that just draw women like a magnet. Is Crowe one of those guys?PB: You never know cause you can never go out with him normally! You know, cause we went out to a bar. He came in through the back door. Then when we left, he went through the front door and he found out why he came in through the back door! Cause it took him a half an hour to walk this far (measuring a couple of feet with his hands).WK: Cause they're standing in line? PB: Cause they want autographs and stuff. It's pretty tough for him. *************** Quote from Connie Nielsen, around Gladiator press time, found here: http://moviegladiator.tripod.com/inter.html** Russell, your love interest in the film, is quite the babe, no? CN: Oh, yes. He's also an intense, extremely intelligent, completely devoted actor. And he's not only extremely generous in his work, he's generous outside of it.	"The amazing thing about Russell was how he just threw it away. He just had all the lines. It wasn't like he sat there chewing over things. He was so absorbed in the character, he didn't have to frill it up with anything. It was a brilliant insight for me. Actors are all different, we've all got different motors." Paddy Considine, Sunday September 11, 2005, The Observer ************************** Talking about the tea room scene in A Beautiful Mind: Q: "It's said a huge part of acting is listening, and a prime example would be your tea scene with Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind." A: "That man is extraordinary. That actor is just extraordinary! If you can't listen to him, you can't listen to anybody. Furthermore, we didn't get to the angle on me until almost midnight. First we shot the scene on Russell Crowe about 6 o'clock in the evening and then, instead of turning around right on to me, we did the whole sequence of the pens being put on the table, which took hours. It was shot from every conceivable angle. Every different actor who brought a pen had to be shot. It was shot from overhead. Here and there. And this is a day that began at 6 o'clock that morning. So, finally, they brought the camera around to me at almost midnight and I was thinking, "I don't know how to do this now. I can't do it. I'm tired. I've forgotten completely what Russell said." But Russell sat off camera and played the scene as fully as he'd played it six hours before. It was incredible. I've never seen an actor do that. So all I had to do is hang out, do you know what I mean? And respond to him. I was thinking, "How can I do this!? How can I do this!?," and in effect, he did it for me. He's very compelling to listen to." Austin Pendleton, www.dvdtalk.com, November 4, 2003
Jodie Foster on Larry King 3/27/02 KING: And you were going to direct Russell Crowe, right? FOSTER: Yes, I was. KING: What happened? FOSTER: The movie was "Flora Plum" about circus performers in the '30s. KING: Are they ever going to do it? FOSTER: We'll definitely do it. It's a great script.KING: With him? FOSTER: I don't think so, no. KING: Because? FOSTER: Many reasons but because he had intensely painful surgery where he has many pins in his shoulder. He'll never be able to really -- at least in the next year be able to raise his hand above his head let alone hang. He's an acrobat.KING: He really likes you. FOSTER: Yes. I really like him, too. KING: And I had a wonderful time with him on this program. People were saying Russell Crowe. What do you make of that? *FOSTER: He's a -- you know, I think Russell, what do I know about Russell Crowe. He's terrifically talented, incredibly charming guy. But I think when he gets nervous he gets very serious. He gets very serious. But the truth is that he's a very light, funny guy. I always say he's like a little bit of leprechaun side to him. KING:* What's his talent? When an actor looks at another actor -- "A Beautiful Mind" did you like that movie?*FOSTER: Loved it.* KING: When you look at it, do you say as an actor now, that's Russell Crowe or that's Dr. Nash? FOSTER: That's what's so wonderful is that he can really have that transformation where it's such a different character than he played in the "Insider" for example, or in "Gladiator." These are three entirely different people. That he is so committed to completely changing himself. However, there's one consistent thing that he can't get rid of it, it is just who he is. He has that absolutely glacier intensity. He is truly intense on screen. ********************************* Jack Thompson (From the big Sunday interview.) "When he's on the screen you're not watching anyone else. It's a great vitality; a great purpose; a sense of real purpose in everything that he does."	This is from Joaquin Phoenix, found at http://www.darkhorizons.com/news6/joaquin.htm : On Gladiator, a mammoth spectacle, Phoenix ... was nervous about doing the film, so sought advice from co-star Russell Crowe. "He said, 'Shut up mate, here's a valium'," he begins laughingly. "What he REALLY said was 'Take it easy, it'll be fine, just breathe deeply, we're all in this together.'" *********************** There are several quotes from other actors about Russell at Max Crowe (Scroll) *********************************** Javier Bardem QUESTION: When you got the San Sebastian Festival award you wrote a text in which, referring to Robert De Niro, who played a madman in "Taxi Driver", you said: «I have always felt attraction over the idea of madness, of making madness rational, of directing it towards a definite purpose. This is my take on life and I thought that maybe as an actor I would be able to do it». ANSWER: Yes, directing madness towards a definite purpose, that is right. It's what we were speaking about earlier: you have to be adult enough in order to direct the inner child, to give a meaning to the unpredictable and the chaotic. QUESTION: That which is bigger than you, so big, in fact, that if you don't find a way out it can break you in pieces. ANSWER: Exactly. So it is a task of contention but also of expansion. And that's the game, that is the greatness of this job, and I admire the people who are able to do that. For instance, Russell Crowe, playing the schizophrenic mathematician in "Una mente maravillosa" [A Beautiful Mind]. He has crossed a line there, I can feel he has crossed the line of logic, of thought, and he has dared to deal with his own insanity. QUESTION: And then he comes back. It is a journey. ANSWER: And then he comes back, indeed. The trick is knowing how to get back. To keep control of your work.
Billy Boyd (The Mirror UK) “You were in Master and Commander with Russell Crowe. What was he like? He’s one of our generation’s great actors. We hung out on the quarterdeck a lot and had a lot of time to fill together. He didn’t lose his temper and throw anything at you, did he? No, nothing at all (laughs) – except a ball when we were playing rugby. I haven’t spoken to him since he supposedly threw that telephone at someone in New York, and I would love to know the full story. I think people have a problem that Russell doesn’t want to play the Hollywood game. He’s only interested in being an actor, not a celebrity or a heartthrob.”****************************** Simon Baker, LA Confidential co-star, In Style magazine, April 2002 Q: Which actors are cool to you? A: I love guys who are guys, who also show their flaws.I love Russell Crowe's work because he's very truthful and powerful, and he's able to be all different men. ******************************** Charlotte Rampling talking about the attributes that Russell brought to Hammers over the Anvil, The Age, July 1994 "I found that he had a combination of being very outdoors and physical in one sense, but that he also had a very interesting sensitivity which would work beautifully with the role of East." *********************************** Meg on Russell, during promotional interview for Proof of Life: Russell Crowe is a very specific actor. You know, he's so capable - just the way he deals with props is amazing. **************************Rachel Griffiths, actress, LA Times newspaper April 2002 "Russ couldn't act gravity and moral outrage if he wasn't outraged. That's the nature of his voice, and in Australia we love him for his passion and his heart. In his movies, he always makes you feel something." ******************************** Danielle Spencer, Hello magazine April 2002 “When you meet someone, if you have things in common then your relationship develops in the right direction. There's the music thing and we had kicked off acting together, so that's really where we formed our friendship. I've never seen anyone work as hard as Russell. He is the most driven, hard-working person I have come across. I never doubted for a minute he'd get there, and I never resented it because I felt he deserved it and that he is a great actor.”	Richard Harris, 2001 What goes on now is so stupid. It's like creating importance around themselves. On the other hand, I like a guy that a lot of people don't like here in the States. And that's Russell Crowe. A down to earth guy. When I was finishing up on Gladiator, Russell and I kind of hung around together. He'd come to my pubs, he'd walk in, sit down, no fuss. He took me to his pubs, the Australia pubs in London, no fuss. That's what I like. And I hope he stays like that. And that's why people don't like Russell in Hollywood. He says what he feels, and he doesn't play the game. He's really from my generation, from the O'Toole, Harris and Burton generation. You know, no bull. Richard Harris, Empire magazine, June 2000 Russell Crowe-He's my kind of guy: down to earth, Australian-no bullshit." Richard Harris, Total Film magazine, July 2000 On Gladiator and Russell: "The thought of this legend on set with the equally bibulous Oliver Reed is formidable, but the much vaunted clash of the hellraisers didn't happen. "I never worked with Reed at all," says Harris. "I only worked for seven days, so I didn't meet Oliver. But I did meet Russell Crowe and I adored him-because it hasn't gone to his head yet. And I don't think that it will" I said "Keep your feet on the ground and you'll go to the sky!" ************************** Derek Jacobi talking about the impact that his role in Gladiator has had on his fans, Daily Mail February 2002: “A woman asked for my autograph. As I was signing, she kissed my shoulder and said: "That's 'ad Russell Crowe's bum on it, that 'as." Derek Jacobi, The Age May 2002 “A lot of so-called movie stars are not proper actors - they are personalities but Russell has got the fire in his belly typical of all real actors.” Santa Cruz County Magazine Good Times has an interview with some locals who worked on Master and Commander: ***************************** The Santa Cruz men acted nearly every day with Crowe, and they say that contrary to what the tabloids reported, he’s a nice guy—a human being, and a generous one at that. “I saw him [Crowe] taking care of people,” says Sebastian Grubb, an 18-year-old who played the part of Jemmy Ducks, the poulterer (he kept tabs on the animals). “One day he took an interest in making sure I was ready for a scene. He was showing me how to tie a scarf on my arm. He tied it for me and made sure it was snug. He showed a generosity that you don’t hear about anywhere [in the media]". ************************** Jennifer ConnellyNZ Herald September 17, 2005 "I had a good time working with Russell Crowe, Ron Howard and Ed Harris. It was a great cast and Russell worked hard, doing tons of research and questioning everything.
Christopher Plummer MSNBC has an old bio of Russell - a least a few years old. In it Christopher Plummer speaking of working with him on the Insider and ABM said he's the best actor of his generation. Called him the consummate professional and hardest working actor he knows. But during times off, said he plays as hard as he works. One could tell he is very fond of Russell, but express concern re his "wild life style." (note: this was pre-Dani)************************************ Christopher PlummerTranscript from a 1999 Rosie O'Donnell show ... Rosie: Now have you ever worked with Al Pacino or Russell Crowe before? Christopher: No. I'm a big huge fan of Al Pacino's and now an enormous fan of Russell's who I think is probably the most versatile actor on the screen today. I mean, who would ever believe that he was Australian with that extraordinary performance in L.A. Confidential and also this one in which he is Mr. Wigand to the nth degree. He is absolutely perfect; he transforms himself.	Al Pacino says " I wondered why they'd hired such a young guy to play a 50 year olds part. But I soon realized there's a great actor inside that young man's body. Taken from Russell Crowe, The Biography, by Tim Ewbank and Stafford Hildred.*********************** From a 1998 interview with Christianne Hirt: She is effusive in her praise of Crowe's talent ... "He has such incredible presence and, best of all, he's a gracious, self-effacing man. "Those are two qualities that could propel him to superstardom." - Canoe Ca
Thanks to Jennifer, Poly, Sandra, Essie, Ro, Maria, Laurie, Lallum, msdarlyn, Ting, Sue, Susie, Crowe Fan, Ruth UK

Here are other actors' opinions on Russell's talent. Please send in any you can find.

Anthony Hopkins in a Total Film interview on Russell:

Interview with Anthony Hopkins in Total Film (UK) February 2006 --

One of the people I got to know years ago, which was a great privilege, was Laurence Olivier. He seemed to be like a racing driver as an actor. He was like a laser – that was his power. And the only actor I’ve met since who had that same quality of laser-like determination is Russell Crowe.

You worked with Crowe right at the start of his career on an Australian film called Spotswood…

The first day I started working with him, I thought, “That guys got it!” The best way to describe Russell is like a shark, he’s like a shark circling around. You could see it in the way he was figuring things out. Just before he became the big hit in LA Confidential, I was asked if I would do a film interview about him. They asked me about him, and I said, “Oh yeah, I could see it in him, he was different from the other guys.” He was argumentative. He argued with the director all the time. And I said to the director, “Listen to him, he’s got a point. He’s good – let him do it!”

Did you see yourself as a younger man in Russell?

Yeah, I did. There’s a photograph of me here from 1970 (pulls out photo). This young lady gave it to me and I looked at it and I thought, “I was a bad boy then.” I thought, “God, this is an unhappy camper, but…Boy! I’d take on anyone back then!”

I don’t know Russell that well, but I admire him and, you know, whatever he’s got to do really. I really like him, because he’s ballsy, he’s got guts; he’s macho and all the rest of it. He’s going through his bad boy period, but he’s basically a nice guy.

NY Times - BOLDFACE NAMES March 14, 2001, Wednesday

It's A.D. 180: It's Make-Believe Speaking as one gladiator about another, CHARLTON HESTON said yesterday that he is rooting for RUSSELL CROWE to win the Academy Award for best actor. ''He's very good,'' Mr. Heston declared during a stopover in New York to promote the release of ''Ben-Hur'' in...

********************************

Australian Herald Sun 1 March 2006

"As Heath Ledger prepares for his big Oscar night. Hollywood stars are asking - what about Russell Crowe?

Two of Crowe's co-stars have come out swinging in support of the volatile Aussie, saying he and Ledger should both be up for best actor at next week's Academy Awards.

Crowe's performance as boxer James Braddock in Cinderella Man was snubbed in nominations and co-star Paul Giamatti said yesterday he couldn't believe it.

"I am sorry Russell didn't get nominated"said Giamatti, who is up for best supporting actor for his role as Crowe's trainer in the movie. "I am nothing in that movie without him"

It has been rumoured Crowe's phone throwing tantrum in New York last year had outraged Academy voters and cost him a nomination.

British actor Paul Bettany who starred with Crowe in the Oscar winning film A Beautiful Mind and Master & Commander,said he's be appalled if Crowe's bad boy reputation had cost him a nomination.

********************************

Paul Giamatti

seven.com.au/news/entertainment/108896

"People say he's an intimidating guy and stuff like that," Giamatti said.

"I suppose he is, but it's his talent that makes him intimidating more than anything else."It was way better than I expected."I mean, it's the best experience I've ever had working with another actor. He's the best actor I think I've ever worked with."No, he's definitely the best actor I've ever worked with."

**********************************

Renee Zellweger on Working With Russell

CINDERELLA MAN

Sydney Sunday Magazine, Nov 7, 2004

"He's very talented, and he also takes his work very seriously in terms of the lengths he will go to create a believable character. He's very determined too, and Russell really lives his characters."

**********************************************

femail UK - Jennifer Connelly:
As for working with her Oscar winning co-star, Connelly was impressed by the actor's much publicized intensity on the set. "I appreciated that. He doesn't let you take anything for granted. He's also very spontaneous and available as an actor, which I think is great. You just have to be able to be there and enjoy that kind of work which I really do."

A BEAUTIFUL MINDPaul Bettany on Working With RussellPhilly After MidnightWPVI-TV, ABC, Channel 6Wednesday, April 25, 2001Host - Wally Kennedy WK: I want you all to meet Paul Bettany. He's been running around Princeton making 'A Beautiful Mind' with Russell Crowe. Tell me about... Russell Crowe. Before he won the Oscar, was there tension? Do you think he was nervous and pensive? Or does he get nervous about anything?PB: I don't think he gets nervous. He doesn't seem to have nerves. He was so calm. He was annoyingly humble about the whole thing. I would have been running around naked with my Oscar saying, "I've got an Oscar, and you haven't!"WK: Did he bring the Oscar to the set?PB: No, nothing so gauche! He showed me the Oscar because I wanted to see it. Novody else would touch it because they thought it would bring them bad luck. But I was kind of like (motioning like he's grabbing the Oscar) I'm never gonna get one of these fellas!WK: You know what I wonder... there are certain guys that just draw women like a magnet. Is Crowe one of those guys?PB: You never know cause you can never go out with him normally! You know, cause we went out to a bar. He came in through the back door. Then when we left, he went through the front door and he found out why he came in through the back door! Cause it took him a half an hour to walk this far (measuring a couple of feet with his hands).WK: Cause they're standing in line?

PB: Cause they want autographs and stuff. It's pretty tough for him.

*****************

Quote from Connie Nielsen, around Gladiator press time, found here: http://moviegladiator.tripod.com/inter.html Russell, your love interest in the film, is quite the babe, no?
CN: Oh, yes. He's also an intense, extremely intelligent, completely devoted actor. And he's not only extremely generous in his work, he's generous outside of it.

"The amazing thing about Russell was how he just threw it away. He just had all the lines. It wasn't like he sat there chewing over things. He was so absorbed in the character, he didn't have to frill it up with anything. It was a brilliant insight for me. Actors are all different, we've all got different motors."

Paddy Considine, Sunday September 11, 2005, The Observer

**************************
Talking about the tea room scene in A Beautiful Mind:

Q: "It's said a huge part of acting is listening, and a prime example would be your tea scene with Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind."

A: "That man is extraordinary. That actor is just extraordinary! If you can't listen to him, you can't listen to anybody. Furthermore, we didn't get to the angle on me until almost midnight. First we shot the scene on Russell Crowe about 6 o'clock in the evening and then, instead of turning around right on to me, we did the whole sequence of the pens being put on the table, which took hours. It was shot from every conceivable angle. Every different actor who brought a pen had to be shot. It was shot from overhead. Here and there. And this is a day that began at 6 o'clock that morning. So, finally, they brought the camera around to me at almost midnight and I was thinking, "I don't know how to do this now. I can't do it. I'm tired. I've forgotten completely what Russell said."

But Russell sat off camera and played the scene as fully as he'd played it six hours before. It was incredible. I've never seen an actor do that. So all I had to do is hang out, do you know what I mean? And respond to him. I was thinking, "How can I do this!?

How can I do this!?," and in effect, he did it for me.
He's very compelling to listen to."

Austin Pendleton, www.dvdtalk.com, November 4, 2003

Jodie Foster on Larry King 3/27/02
KING: And you were going to direct Russell Crowe, right? FOSTER: Yes, I was. KING: What happened? FOSTER: The movie was "Flora Plum" about circus performers in the '30s. KING: Are they ever going to do it? FOSTER: We'll definitely do it. It's a great script.KING: With him? FOSTER: I don't think so, no. KING: Because? FOSTER: Many reasons but because he had intensely painful surgery where he has many pins in his shoulder. He'll never be able to really -- at least in the next year be able to raise his hand above his head let alone hang. He's an acrobat.KING: He really likes you. FOSTER: Yes. I really like him, too. KING: And I had a wonderful time with him on this program. People were saying Russell Crowe. What do you make of that? FOSTER: He's a -- you know, I think Russell, what do I know about Russell Crowe. He's terrifically talented, incredibly charming guy. But I think when he gets nervous he gets very serious. He gets very serious. But the truth is that he's a very light, funny guy. I always say he's like a little bit of leprechaun side to him. KING: What's his talent? When an actor looks at another actor -- "A Beautiful Mind" did you like that movie?FOSTER: Loved it. KING: When you look at it, do you say as an actor now, that's Russell Crowe or that's Dr. Nash?

FOSTER: That's what's so wonderful is that he can really have that transformation where it's such a different character than he played in the "Insider" for example, or in "Gladiator." These are three entirely different people. That he is so committed to completely changing himself. However, there's one consistent thing that he can't get rid of it, it is just who he is. He has that absolutely glacier intensity. He is truly intense on screen.

*********************************

Jack Thompson (From the big Sunday interview.)

"When he's on the screen you're not watching anyone else. It's a great vitality; a great purpose; a sense of real purpose in everything that he does."

This is from Joaquin Phoenix, found at http://www.darkhorizons.com/news6/joaquin.htm : On Gladiator, a mammoth spectacle, Phoenix ... was nervous about doing the film, so sought advice from co-star Russell Crowe.

"He said, 'Shut up mate, here's a valium'," he begins laughingly. "What he REALLY said was 'Take it easy, it'll be fine, just breathe deeply, we're all in this together.'"

*************************

There are several quotes from other actors about Russell at Max Crowe (Scroll) *************************************

Javier Bardem
QUESTION: When you got the San Sebastian Festival award you wrote a text in which, referring to Robert De Niro, who played a madman in "Taxi Driver", you said: «I have always felt attraction over the idea of madness, of making madness rational, of directing it towards a definite purpose. This is my take on life and I thought that maybe as an actor I would be able to do it».

ANSWER: Yes, directing madness towards a definite purpose, that is right. It's what we were speaking about earlier: you have to be adult enough in order to direct the inner child, to give a meaning to the unpredictable and the chaotic.

QUESTION: That which is bigger than you, so big, in fact, that if you don't find a way out it can break you in pieces.

ANSWER: Exactly. So it is a task of contention but also of expansion. And that's the game, that is the greatness of this job, and I admire the people who are able to do that. For instance, Russell Crowe, playing the schizophrenic mathematician in "Una mente maravillosa" [A Beautiful Mind]. He has crossed a line there, I can feel he has crossed the line of logic, of thought, and he has dared to deal with his own insanity.

QUESTION: And then he comes back. It is a journey.

ANSWER: And then he comes back, indeed. The trick is knowing how to get back. To keep control of your work.

Billy Boyd (The Mirror UK) “You were in Master and Commander with Russell Crowe. What was he like?

He’s one of our generation’s great actors. We hung out on the quarterdeck a lot and had a lot of time to fill together.

He didn’t lose his temper and throw anything at you, did he?

No, nothing at all (laughs) – except a ball when we were playing rugby. I haven’t spoken to him since he supposedly threw that telephone at someone in New York, and I would love to know the full story.

I think people have a problem that Russell doesn’t want to play the Hollywood game. He’s only interested in being an actor, not a celebrity or a heartthrob.”********************************

Simon Baker, LA Confidential co-star, In Style magazine, April 2002

Q: Which actors are cool to you?
A: I love guys who are guys, who also show their flaws.I love Russell Crowe's work because he's very truthful and powerful, and he's able to be all different men.

************************************ Charlotte Rampling talking about the attributes that Russell brought to Hammers over the Anvil, The Age, July 1994

"I found that he had a combination of being very outdoors and physical in one sense, but that he also had a very interesting sensitivity which would work beautifully with the role of East."

*************************************** Meg on Russell, during promotional interview for Proof of Life:
Russell Crowe is a very specific actor. You know, he's so capable - just the way he deals with props is amazing.

******************************Rachel Griffiths, actress, LA Times newspaper April 2002

"Russ couldn't act gravity and moral outrage if he wasn't outraged. That's the nature of his voice, and in Australia we love him for his passion and his heart. In his movies, he always makes you feel something."

**********************************

Danielle Spencer, Hello magazine April 2002

“When you meet someone, if you have things in common then your relationship develops in the right direction. There's the music thing and we had kicked off acting together, so that's really where we formed our friendship.

I've never seen anyone work as hard as Russell. He is the most driven, hard-working person I have come across. I never doubted for a minute he'd get there, and I never resented it because I felt he deserved it and that he is a great actor.”

Richard Harris, 2001

What goes on now is so stupid. It's like creating importance around themselves. On the other hand, I like a guy that a lot of people don't like here in the States. And that's Russell Crowe. A down to earth guy. When I was finishing up on Gladiator, Russell and I kind of hung around together. He'd come to my pubs, he'd walk in, sit down, no fuss. He took me to his pubs, the Australia pubs in London, no fuss. That's what I like. And I hope he stays like that. And that's why people don't like Russell in Hollywood. He says what he feels, and he doesn't play the game. He's really from my generation, from the O'Toole, Harris and Burton generation. You know, no bull.

Richard Harris, Empire magazine, June 2000

Russell Crowe-He's my kind of guy: down to earth, Australian-no bullshit."

Richard Harris, Total Film magazine, July 2000

On Gladiator and Russell: "The thought of this legend on set with the equally bibulous Oliver Reed is formidable, but the much vaunted clash of the hellraisers didn't happen. "I never worked with Reed at all," says Harris. "I only worked for seven days, so I didn't meet Oliver. But I did meet Russell Crowe and I adored him-because it hasn't gone to his head yet. And I don't think that it will" I said "Keep your feet on the ground and you'll go to the sky!"

**************************** Derek Jacobi talking about the impact that his role in Gladiator has had on his fans, Daily Mail February 2002:

“A woman asked for my autograph. As I was signing, she kissed my shoulder and said: "That's 'ad Russell Crowe's bum on it, that 'as."

Derek Jacobi, The Age May 2002
“A lot of so-called movie stars are not proper actors - they are personalities but Russell has got the fire in his belly typical of all real actors.”

Santa Cruz County Magazine Good Times has an interview with some locals who worked on Master and Commander:

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The Santa Cruz men acted nearly every day with Crowe, and they say that contrary to what the tabloids reported, he’s a nice guy—a human being, and a generous one at that.

“I saw him [Crowe] taking care of people,” says Sebastian Grubb, an 18-year-old who played the part of Jemmy Ducks, the poulterer (he kept tabs on the animals). “One day he took an interest in making sure I was ready for a scene. He was showing me how to tie a scarf on my arm. He tied it for me and made sure it was snug. He showed a generosity that you don’t hear about anywhere [in the media]". ****************************

Jennifer ConnellyNZ Herald September 17, 2005 "I had a good time working with Russell Crowe, Ron Howard and Ed Harris. It was a great cast and Russell worked hard, doing tons of research and questioning everything.

Christopher Plummer MSNBC has an old bio of Russell - a least a few years old. In it Christopher Plummer speaking of working with him on the Insider and ABM said he's the best actor of his generation. Called him the consummate professional and hardest working actor he knows. But during times off, said he plays as hard as he works. One could tell he is very fond of Russell, but express concern re his "wild life style." (note: this was pre-Dani)************************************

Christopher PlummerTranscript from a 1999 Rosie O'Donnell show ... Rosie: Now have you ever worked with Al Pacino or Russell Crowe before? Christopher: No. I'm a big huge fan of Al Pacino's and now an enormous fan of Russell's who I think is probably the most versatile actor on the screen today. I mean, who would ever believe that he was Australian with that extraordinary performance in L.A. Confidential and also this one in which he is Mr. Wigand to the nth degree. He is absolutely perfect; he transforms himself.

Al Pacino says " I wondered why they'd hired such a young guy to play a 50 year olds part. But I soon realized there's a great actor inside that young man's body. Taken from Russell Crowe, The Biography, by Tim Ewbank and Stafford Hildred.***********************

From a 1998 interview with Christianne Hirt: She is effusive in her praise of Crowe's talent ... "He has such incredible presence and, best of all, he's a gracious, self-effacing man. "Those are two qualities that could propel him to superstardom." - Canoe Ca

Thanks to Jennifer, Poly, Sandra, Essie, Ro, Maria, Laurie, Lallum, msdarlyn, Ting, Sue, Susie, Crowe Fan, Ruth UK

Other Actors on Russell

NY Times - BOLDFACE NAMES March 14, 2001, Wednesday