Russell Crowe

From ArticleWorld

Russell Crowe was born April 7, 1964 in Wellington New Zealand. When he was four, his family moved to Australia. His family worked in the film industry and Crowe got his first taste of acting when he was awarded a bit part on one episode of the Australian series Spyforce when he was only 5 or 6. He attended Sydney Boys High School until his family moved back to New Zealand when he was fourteen. Though he attended Auckland Grammar School, he did not finish his secondary education. He quit school to help out his family's financial situation. He returned to Australia when he was 21 to pursue an acting career. Crowe landed a part on the Australian series Neighbours and later, Living with the Law. He was cast in his first film, The Crossing, in 1990.

Hollywood

Crowe generated success as an Australian actor and he decided to try his hand at American movies. He starred in numerous films including The Quick and the Dead with Sharon Stone and Leonardo DiCaprio, L.A. Confidential with Kim Bassinger, Mystery, Alaska about a small town hockey team playing the New York Rangers, and Proof of Life opposite Meg Ryan. The same year Proof of Life was released, Gladiator was in theaters. Crowe won an Oscar for his roll in the epic. In 1999, he received accolades for his portrayal in The Insider which was about the tobacco industry. Later, in 2001, Crowe was awarded for his superb work in A Dangerous Mind. He won both the BAFTA Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor.

Temper

Russell Crowe is known for his temper and his fondness for the occasional bar brawl. In 2002, he was awarded the BAFTA Award for Best male Actor for his role in A Beautiful Mind. His acceptance speech was cut short to make way for the tape-delay and Crowe assaulted the producer of the awards show, Malcolm Gerrie. In addition, while filming A Beautiful Mind on the Princeton University Campus, he threw up the middle finger to a student who was taking his picture causing a media uproar.

More recently, Crowe was arrested in June 2005 for assaulting a hotel concierge with a broken telephone. He apologized and said he was tired, he missed his family and was upset that he could not reach his wife on the telephone. He was ordered to pay the man a $100,000 settlement and was sentenced to probation for one year. The judge said that he didn't have to go to jail as long as he was not arrested in the United States again for a period of one year.