Russel Crowe is probably the most famous and awarded actor from New Zealand. The 56-year-old actor is known for a few dozens of films produced in Hollywood, as well as in Europe and other places around the world. Despite being a true Kiwi, he resides mostly in Australia. Being a bigger country with a significantly larger movie production market, his career has boomed there. Yet, the move to Australia was not Crowe’s own decision. His family moved there when he was only four years old. As a result, despite having New Zealand citizenship, he has spent the majority of his life in nearby Australia.
One film and the global success story
He has cast in many great films. However, his acting talent was brought to international attention in the year 2000 when he played the Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridiusin a critically acclaimed historical drama “The Gladiator”. A year later, in 2001, he won the Oscar for the role. Yet, on an Australian TV show, he recently stated that he did not deserve the Oscar. He said that the enormous attention that he received from the general public and the industry made him feel guilty.
The Gladiator was a big hit and one of the most famous, widely recognized, and highly praised film productions at the beginning of the new millennium. That is why Crowe’s performance in the movie led to many other offers throughout the next years, earning him a number of famous and well-known roles. Many critics have said that Crowe’s European roots had an important impact on shaping his character in the movie.
Russel Crowe has Norwegian, Swedish and Scottish ancestry. After his role in Gladiator, he became extremely popular in Norway. Local media was reporting about his connection to Norway and how it has impacted his perception of the role back in the year 2000. His popularity in Norway and other European countries continues till this very day.
He is so popular and well-known in the Nordics, especially in Norway, that some companies even use him for advertising purposes. Russel Crowe is known for his vigorous opposition to the gambling business. One of Norway’s most prominent gambling services providers Spinia NO uses Crowe’s name in numerous campaigns, often in a sarcastic way. Soon after, other gambling companies around the world also started putting Crowe’s face forward in their campaigns. The expectation is that people from Norway, as well as from other parts of the world, will react particularly positively to his appearance in an ad. However, Crowe would never willingly contribute to advertising the gambling sector.
Who should take the credit for Gladiator?
Now, after such a global success practically in every part of the world, Crowe is saying that he was not worthy of the Oscar. In his belief, as he stated on the Australian talk show, the film’s director Ridley Scott should have received every single credit for the movie and its global success. He stated: “I got so many pats on the back, and, you know, I got some big awards and all that, and obviously that sort of stepped me up to a different level for quite some time,”
According to the award-winning actor, the realization came to him as he rewatched Gladiator at the Colosseum in Rome recently. “I watched that movie, and it is a director’s film. It was one of those moments of, ‘Why did I get all the attention, when the Academy Award belongs to Ridley Scott?’.
Russel Crowe was not the only Oscar winner for Gladiator. The movie also received the award for best sound, best costume design, best visual effects, and best picture.
This was one of the very few recent TV appearances for the Kiwi actor. Prior to it, he announced that he was keeping himself away from his kids amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. He stayed in a rural area with his elderly parents whilst his children were isolating in the middle of Sydney.
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