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This is an article from the September 2000 issue of the South African magazine "Femina", courtesy of Aruana of the CrowePeople.
Russell Crowe,
why Meg Ryan and Jodie Foster love him
Article by Biddi Rorke
'Evil is attractive', says Russell Crowe. 'That is, after all, the reason
we've been going to the movies and watching bad guys for most of the
century.' We couldn't agree more. After a softening spate of pretty boys
and androgynous do-gooders, we're thrilled to welcome a real man into the
vicious fold of international stardom.
Russell swears. He's unruly. He smokes too much and fights in bars. He
rides horses and motorbikes at full throttle and has no time for airy-fairy
directors or designer sushi. In essence, he's a man's man. And a woman's
dream come true. He's been romantically linked to Jodie Foster (some
speculate he's made her pregnant), Nicole Kidman and Winona Ryder. But the
hottest rumour circulating to date is that Meg (Miss Cute) Ryan has fallen
for Russell's manly charms. She has reportedly ditched long-time husband
Dennin Quaid in favour of our rugged rogue and recently attended David
Bowie's London show with her sexy new beau. 'Meg and Russell are relieved
this is out in the open, ' says a friend, 'They are extremely close'.
It seems Russell is the ultimate first prize and even Sharon Stone had to
cross her legs when first seeing him in action. 'I thought Russell was not
only charismatic attractive,' she breathed to the media after noting his
performance as a white supremacist in the 1992 film Romper Stomper. Likened
to Marlon Brando, James Dean and Mel Gibson, Russell has his fair share of
male supporters too. 'There's a fire in him,' says Burt Reynolds who worked
with in Mystery, Alaska (1999). 'There's a fire in him that burns all night
long, all day long, all the time. And that may hurt him because people
don't understand that kind of flame.' Abrasive, outrageous and
unpredictable, Russell is fast earning a reputation as a tough and timeless
talent. Anyone who has seen the recent $100-million (about R700-million)
epic,
Gladiator, will be inclined to agree. Set in the lusty, dusty Colosseum of
180 AD Rome, Russell plays the fictional general Maximus who fights for
three reasons - for the glory of the empire, to avenge the death of his
family and to begin his freedom.
Filming in England, Malta and Morocco was harsh and unrelenting and some of
the blood splattered across the screen is Russell's own. He narrowly missed
being savaged by a tiger, tore tendons in his arm, broke a bone in his foot
and fractured his hip, wanting to do all the furious fighting himself.
Despite his injuries and having to fend off savage beasts, Russell maintains
the most difficult aspect of his rousing performance was not the physical or
mental exertion - rather the fact he had to wear a (tunic-type) dress.
'You really believe Russell in the arena as warrior,' says Gladiator's
producer Doug Wick. 'He has a kind of intensity, a devoutness .... He's
probably the first guy since Richard Burton who's not only an extraordinary
character actor, but has the basic raw energy onscreen of a leading man. I
think he's got a furnace inside and it gets right up onscreen.
But while Russell's passionate interpretation of the role has thrust him
into the premier league and has assured him prime position as a powerful
action hero, he is notoriously dismissive of what he sees as Hollywood hype
and hysteria. He refuses to drive in limousines and once growled at his
Academy Award date, Jodie Foster, 'Stop being so f**king popular'.
'There are a lot of bullsh*t artists who live in Los Angeles, 'he says.
'There are a lot of people there who'll nice you to death - they'll say
whatever they feel you need to hear. I know a lot of people who have
drowned under that. I have to keep my life apart. I am committed to acting
and get great satisfaction from it. But it's not rocket science, I don not
like the great desire within this business to move (actors) to the Hollywood
way of thinking. It would be unhealthy for me to live like that, full
time.'
To preserve his sanity, space and privacy, Russell spends his days on his
working cattle farm in Coffs Harbour under Australia's big blue sky. His
parents and brother live in the carpeted farmhouse while he chooses to bunk
down in a primitive caravan, surrounded by boxes of wine and CD's. 'We have
horses, dogs turtles, cows and chickens and I try to be there when all the
babies are being born, 'he says of the 560-acre estate. 'These animals are
my friends and I enjoy spending time with them because they open my mind up
again when the small world of show business threatens to close it down.'
His love of the land, his family and his obvious affinity with animals point
to many contradictions in Russell's character. He might booze, kick, punch
and bite like a wild man, but deep down he's an absolute softie who, like
Maximus, yearns for the comfort of a good woman and a peaceful home. He
also admits to being an unsuccessful farmer because he refuses to kill any
of his livestock.
'Russell, as big and macho as his gladiator is, at the same time has a
vulnerability,' says Tomas Arana who played Quintus in the film. 'All my
wife's friends say, "Russell, God, is he available?"
It seems he is. Despite mumurings of other love interests, a 1995 parting
of his girlfriend of five years, Australian actress, Danielle Spencer, has
officially made Russell one of the most eligible and enigmatic bachelors in
celluloid history. Blaming the demise of his romance on a gruelling work
schedule, our heartsore artist even wrote a song in his ex-lover's honour.
Turning to the guitar for both inspiration and solace is not a new outlet.
Since 1984 Russell has been a member of the curiously named rock band "30
Odd Foot of Grunts" and admits that while music has always been one of his
passions, he knows he doesn't have the necessary talent.
'If I could sit with Eric Clapton, play guitar, and have him give me a
little wink, that would be perfect,' he reveals with boyish
self-deprecation. 'But I know it 's not going to happen because the
talent's not there.'
It's certainly there in his relationship with the camera - and Russell knows
it. 'People accuse me of being arrogant all the time,' he reveals. 'I'm
not arrogant. I'm focused. I have ideas and if that's arrogant - so be it.
I'm there to turn in a performance, not to coddle the director.
As Curtis Hanson, who directed him as the brutal cop Bud White in LA
Confidential, says: 'Russell was relentless in his pursuit of the essence
of the character. If that made him a pain in the ass sometimes, you live
with it. What I don't like living with is someone who's a pain in the ass
out of either star stuff or just self-involvement. With Russell it was
about the work.'
Watch out for the video release of The Insider. Russell's portrayal of a
podgy 50-year-old anti tobacconist earned him an Oscar nomination. In
Mystery, Alaska he played a hockey player and in Flora Plum, directed by
Jodie Foster, he will play a freak-show beast. In December, South African
audiences will see Russell in Proof of Life, opposite Meg Ryan, where he
takes on the role of a professional hostage negotiator in the jungles of
South America. Filming Proof also gave him ample opportunity to seduce his
popular blonde co-star both on and off location.
'I constantly try to do things that are stimulating and unique,' Russell
says of his wide choice of parts.
'I do things that give me goose bumps when I read them. But if I feel I'm
in danger of losing my perspective about the business of acting, I can
always go home to the farm.'
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