Russell Crowe had about as good a five years as any actor has in the late 1990s – 2000s with films like The Insider, LA Confidential, A Beautiful Mind, and Gladiator. Not only is Crowe a chameleon as a dramatic actor, he’s an outstanding action star, and if the sometimes temperamental star is in the right setting, he has a very sardonic, dry comedic prowess. He helped kick off the DC Extended Universe, doing a better Jor-El than Marlon Brando (granted it helped that no one ever cared less about a part than Brando did being Jor-El) in Man of Steel, but aside from that and 2016’s The Nice Guys, good parts have been rare for Crowe in the last decade. I’m not sure if the Australian star has lost his desire, or if he’s burned too many bridges, but when you can light a fire under him, he’s one of the best actors alive, so hopefully the right part will come his way soon.
Russell Crowe’s Best 10
1. L.A. Confidential (1997) Bud White
2. The Insider (1999) Jeffery Wigand
3. A Beautiful Mind (2001) John Nash
4. 3:10 to Yuma (2007) Ben Wade
5. Gladiator (2000) Maximus
6. Cinderella Man (2003) Jim Braddock
7. The Nice Guys (2016) Jackson Healy
8. Master and Commander (2005) Capt. Jack Aubrey
9. State of Play (2008) Cal McAffrey
10. American Gangster (2007) Richie Roberts
Honorable Mention: Man of Steel (2013) Jor-El
Oscars, Golden Globes & Emmys
Oscar Wins (1): Gladiator (2001)
Oscar Nominations (3): The Insider (2000), Gladiator (2001), A Beautiful Mind (2002)
Golden Globe Wins (1): A Beautiful Mind (2002)
Golden Globe Nominations (5): The Insider (2000), Gladiator (2001), A Beautiful Mind (2002), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2004), Cinderella Man (2006)
Emmy Wins (0): None
Emmy Nominations (0): None
My Favorite Crowe Scene:
“My Name is Maximus Decimus Meridius” from Gladiator (2000)
Next Film: Crowe is only currently attached to one project: Boy Erased with Nicole Kidman, tentatively slated for 2018.
Reblogged this on The Militant Negro™.
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I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the DCEU should have kicked itself off with a prequel movie set entirely on Krypton. Crowe would have shone as the star.
I think he killed his own career with his behavior, but he’s one of my favorite actors of all time. Just for the record, my favorite role of his will always be the Captain in Master and Commander. What is wrong with the universe, that that movie bombed, instead of spawning a franchise? I wish that when he was younger, someone competent (not Oliver Stone) had made a movie about Alexander the Great, and cast Crowe in the role, because he would have been incredible. I hear that Christopher McQuarrie wants to make an Alexander movie, but Crowe is no longer a realistic contender, which is sad.
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A great list. You should definitely check out his early films called Proof (1990) with Hugo Weaving; Romper Stomper (1992) and under-rated B-movie Western The Quick and the Dead (1995) directed by Sam Raimi. As you say he’s always so charismatic and compelling.
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Quick and the Dead is great fun, thanks for the kind words.
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Good list. A Beautiful Mind and Gladiator are my favourite roles of his. My guilty pleasure though is the secondary role of Crowe in Les Miserables. I thought he was a good cast for Javert.
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Les Miserables is not one of my favorite musicals, that being said, I think the screen adaptation is about as good as can be done and Anne Hathaway deserved her Oscar. I actually though Crowe’s Javert was short-shrifted; that we didn’t get into his journey much and obviously a lot was cut, so that’s why it is just off the list behind Man of Steel which I rate about the same and I thought Crowe was the best part of. It was a tough call though.
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No, I am sure it was a right choice to leave his role in Les Mis out. If your list had a title “guilty pleasure” performances, only then maybe. I don’t think I would have put it in my 10 best of his, so illustrious was Crowe career. Crowe presence is always compelling on screen – hence his imposing Javert, and let’s face it – he was a bit out of tune in Les Mis lol
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Yeah, I don’t know that his rock band was as good as a transition into Broadway as, say, Hugh Jackman’s entire pre-Wolverine career.
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There seems to be a trend in modern movie musicals, of putting acting chops ahead of singing voices. See Antonio Banderes in Evita and everyone in Sweeney Todd. I’m not sure, but it might be because in the old days singing and dancing were skills all actors needed to have, but not anymore. Which means if you want a huge actor, it’s far from a certainty he’ll be able to handle the songs.
But in a movie, filled with close ups and subtleties that you don’t get on stage, I’d rather have someone who can act. The character as written in the show is not terribly deep, but Crowe gave Javier pathos and a sense of depth, not just when he killed himself, but throughout. I thought he stole the movie.
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