Date of Birth7 April 1964, Wellington, North Island, New Zealand Birth NameRussell Ira Crowe NicknameRusty Height5' 11½" (1.82 m) Mini BiographyBorn in New Zealand, Russell has made his home in Australia since he was a small child. The son of movie set caterers, Russell got the acting bug early in life. Beginning as a child star on a local Australian TV show, Russell's first big break came with two films ... the first, Romper Stomper (1992), gained him a name throughout the film community in Australia and the neighboring countries. The second, The Sum of Us (1994), helped put him on the American map, so to speak. Sharon Stone heard of him from Romper Stomper (1992) and wanted him for her film, The Quick and the Dead (1995). But filming on The Sum of Us (1994) had already begun. Sharon is reported to have held up shooting until she had her gunslinger-Crowe, for her film. With The Quick and the Dead (1995) under his belt as his first American film, the second was offered to him soon after. Virtuosity (1995), starring Denzel Washington, put Russell in the body of a Virtual Serial Killer, Sid6.7 ... a role unlike any he had played so far. Virtuosity (1995), a Sci-Fi extravaganza, was a fun film and, again, opened the door to even more American offers. L.A. Confidential (1997), Russell's third American film, brought him the US fame and attention that his fans have felt he deserved all along. Missing the Oscar nod this time around, he didn't seem deterred and signed to do his first film with The Walt Disney Company, Mystery, Alaska (1999). He has recently achieved even more success and awards for his performances in Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001).IMDb Mini Biography By: Gustaf Molin SpouseDanielle Spencer (7 April 2003 - present) 2 children TriviaCousin of former New Zealand international cricketers Jeff and Martin Crowe.Lost his front tooth playing rugby when he was ten. Never got it fixed until, at the insistence of the director for The Crossing (1990), who paid for it out of his own pocket.First lead role when he was 25.Tried a music career as a rockabilly singer sporting a large pompadour hairdo, playing under the name Russ Le Roq. Titled his first single "I Want to Be Like Marlon Brando". Later admitted that he had never even seen a Brando movie when he wrote and recorded the song.After filming Gladiator (2000), he and some friends took a 4,000 mile motorcycle trip around Australia.Owns a 560-acre farm in 7.5 hours North-West from Sydney.Dropped out of high school.Performed on stage in "Grease" and "The Rocky Horror Show".Russell's rock group is named 30 Odd Foot of Grunts. They played their first US concert following Russell's success in Gladiator (2000) in Austin, Texas in August 2000. The tickets for the concert were selling for over $500 on e-bay.com.Suffered a shoulder injury, which will require surgery, while filming Jodie Foster's _Flora Plum (2006)_. It is uncertain if the film will have to be recast. [5 September 2000]

Has starred in two films based on articles from Vanity Fair magazine. The Insider (1999) was based on a story by Marie Brenner named "The Man Who Knew Too Much". Proof of Life (2000) is based on the article "Adventures in the Ransom Trade" by William Prochnau.Dated Meg Ryan. [2001]Turned down the role of Logan/Wolverine in X-Men (2000).He and his band, 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts, performed on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992). [16 August 2001]Proudly displayed his grandfather's British Honours medal (MBE) while making his Oscar Winner speech in 2001.Has indicated an interest in taking out Australian citizenship due to the amount of time and energy he spends Down Under (keeping his New Zealand citizenship as well).Although his surname is of Irish or English extraction, he lists his background as "Norwegian and Maori."When Crowe's acceptance speech for his Best Actor award during the British Film Awards was edited, Crowe shoved the producer of the show, Malcolm Gerrie, against a wall and cursed at him, telling him: "Who on Earth had the ... audacity to take out the best actor's poem? I'll make sure you never work in Hollywood". He later issued a full apology.His grandfather was from Wrexham, WalesRanked #28 in Premiere's 2002 annual Power 100 List.At The Orange British Academy Film Awards on Monday January 28th 2002, was nominated for the Performance by an actor in a leading role Award for his role in A Beautiful Mind (2001).Following his involvement in a brawl in a London restaurant, Russell stated that he was under a lot of stress and announced that he was going back to Australia to relax and spend more time with his father and his long-time girlfriend singer, Danielle Spencer. [November 2002]Discovered by British actor and musical director/writer Daniel Abineri, who gave Crowe his first professional acting role in a New Zealand tour of 'The Rocky Horror Picture Show.' Abineri later awarded Crowe the title role in his first stage musical, 'Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom,' which premiered in Melbourne in 1989.Ranked #30 in Premiere's 2003 annual Power 100 List.Met spouse, Danielle Spencer in 1989 when they co-starred in the 1990 film, The Crossing (1990). Their co-star of the film, Robert Mammone (The Matrix Reloaded (2003), The Matrix Revolutions (2003)), was one of Crowe's groomsmen at their wedding.Son-in-law of actor Don Spencer.Took violin lessons in preparing for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) because his character, Jack Aubrey, played the violin several times during the movie.Favorite toy growing up was Action Man.First child with Danielle Spencer, a boy named Charles Spencer Crowe, born in Sydney (21 December 2003).He wrote a song about Jodie Foster called "Other Ways of Speaking" with his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts.Jodie Foster considers him a very good friend.Plans to donate his brain to medical science when he dies.29 January 2004 - Dislocated his shoulder while training for his upcoming boxing movie, Cinderella Man (2005). The injury delayed filming for two months.

Lives in a penthouse on Woollomoollo Wharf in Sydney, the Penthouse was reportedly sold to Crowe and wife Danielle Spencer for over $13.75 million.Is a close friend of Texan Governor Rick Perry.Lobbied Californian Govener Arnold Schwarzenegger against executing Stanley "Tookie" Williams. (December 2005).The role of James J. Braddock (Cinderella Man (2005)) is his personal favorite.Nearly finalized a deal to reunite with director Michael Mann on Collateral (2004), but scheduling conflicts with "Eucalyptus", a doomed film project, prevented him from taking the role, which later went to Tom Cruise.Two opportunities of working with fellow Australian and good friend, Nicole Kidman, have fallen through. In 2005, they were set to star in Jocelyn Moorhouse's "Eucalyptus," which fell through due to disputes over the screenplay. And in 2006, Crowe dropped out of Australia (2008), Baz Luhrmann's long- gestating romantic Outback epic, due to a disagreement over a cut in Crowe's salary.Was director Oliver Stone's dream choice for the title role in Alexander (2004).Was considered for the role of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) and its ensuing sequels.His earnings in 2001 were estimated at $15.4 million by "Business Review Weekly".Starred in 5 movies in 7 years (1997-2003) which ended up being nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture. (L.A. Confidential (1997), The Insider (1999), Gladiator (2000), A Beautiful Mind (2001) and Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)). Gladiator (2000) and A Beautiful Mind (2001) won. A similar achievement was done by William Hurt in the 80s, he starred in 5 movies nominated for Best Picture in only 6 years between 1983 and 1988 but none of them won.Was slated to star alongside Nicole Kidman in the movie adaptation of Murray Bail's novel "Eucalyptus", but this project was dropped.Initially turned down L.A. Confidential (1997) because he doubted whether he could convincingly play such a tough character.Big fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the NHL.Friends with University of Michigan football coach Lloyd Carr.Is a fan of English Football side Leeds United AFC.According to Forbes, his movies averaged $5 of gross income for every dollar the actor got paid, making him the most overpaid celebrity in the business (December 2007).Crowe's maternal grandfather, Stan Wemyss, was a cinematographer who, according to Crowe, produced the first film by New Zealander Geoff Murphy and was also named an MBE for filming footage of World War II. Crowe's maternal great-great-great grandmother was Māori and as a result Crowe is registered on the Maori electoral roll in New Zealand; Crowe also has Norwegian, Irish and British ancestry.Personal Quotes"One of the most painful things of the L.A. Confidential (1997) character I played was that the author, James Ellroy, kept telling me that Bud White wasn't a drinker. I said, 'come on, this is 1953. He's a blue-collar bloke, a cop. You're telling me he doesn't sit around with the boys after his shift and have a beer?' And Ellroy says, 'absolutely not'. So for five months and seven days, I didn't have a drink. It's probably the most painful period of my life".

[on winning the Best Actor Oscar] "If you grow up in the suburbs of anywhere, a dream like this seems kind of vaguely ludicrous and completely unattainable. But this moment is directly connected to those imaginings. And for anybody who's on the downside of advantage, and relying purely on courage, it's possible.""It's not really what I'd call a movie. I was stunned that Miramax wanted to buy it. I mean it's really rude. It showed me in a really bad light. It's also shoddily made. It's cobbled together." -- expressing surprise that a low-budget documentary of his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, has been picked up for worldwide distribution.I'd move to Los Angeles if Australia and New Zealand were swallowed up by a huge tidal wave, if there was a bubonic plague in Europe, and if the continent of Africa disappeared from some Martian attack."I felt this tap on my shoulder and I turned around and, you know that De Niro fellow? Well, he didn't say a word. He didn't say 'Hello', 'Good evening' or anything or 'Hi, I'm Robert'. He just looked at me and he nodded his head and he smiled. And he walked off." - About meeting Robert De Niro.You don't have to like an actor to do a scene with him. You don't have to like a director. But it's just better if you do. And I think, you know, you've got to begin that with respect.All that stuff, this public persona of me - let's call him 'the wild man' - that is not helpful. It doesn't make me more of a box office draw. It's the quality of my work that makes people want to go to my films.I always say I've given 24 insufficient performances and I'm looking forward to the time in my life when I'll do something that I think is good. There's always stuff you can do better, stuff that maybe you didn't uncover enough. But if you do something that you truly believe is perfect, then that's got to be the last movie you do.I'd like to play passionate women, but no one will let me.If there's anything about someone's life that's important enough to make a movie about it, I have to take responsibility to get all of it right. It's a huge responsibility.The older I get, the crotchetier I'm going to get about that integrity. I don't think, just because you have the public's attention, it's now a prerequisite for you to completely sell out your moral center. I don't think that's OK. If I ever stop being the guy that can answer your question straight and look you in the eye and give you my opinion, then I should stop making films.I'm still excited by it. I still love the process. I want to make movies that pierce people's hearts and touch them in some way, even if it's just for the night while they're in the cinema; in that moment, I want to bring actual tears to their eyes and goosebumps to their skin. That's what motivates me, and it may sound strange but if you're not focused on the audience, why are you bothering to make a movie?"He has disappointed me many times over the past ten years, with his performances in substandard movies." [About Robert De Niro]When I arrived in Sydney, I spent 22 weeks in this $50-a-week place with just a bed, a cupboard and the toilet halfway down the corridor. For the first time my parents were some distance away. I did a lot of thinking and realized I appreciated what my father had instilled in me. People think that because there is a dole there they should use it, and there are a lot of ways to misuse the system. I believe in singing for my supper. I'll never accept a grant because what I do should be able to be founded purely on free enterprise."Mate, he did that to himself. I have little time for the Oliver Reeds of this business. I'm not pleased that he's gone. In fact, I never had a drink with Oliver, because I didn't want to encourage him. I'll go for long periods without a drink. When I'm on the farm by myself, it's not something I even think about. But I'm not afraid to have a beer in front of a studio executive. That doesn't make me a wild man." [About Oliver Reed]I'm at the bottom of a well. I can't communicate how dark my life is right now. I'm in a lot of trouble. I'll do my best to solve the situation in an honorable way. I'm very sorry for my actions. I will spend the rest of my life if it takes it, trying to make it up with my wife. I'm pleased that my son isn't able to compute what's going on at the moment because that would be a heartbreaking thing. One thing that I don't want to do is imply that I'm trying to make out it's somebody else's fault It's not, I know it's my fault, I've got to face up to it and deal with it. I'm not trying to be pessimistic, I'm just looking at what the situation is - it's a seven-year jail sentence.