Russell is the son of Jocelyn Yvonne (née Wemyss) and John Alexander Crowe, both of whom were movie set caterers; his father also managed a hotel. Crowe's maternal grandfather, Stan Wemyss, was a cinematographer who was named an MBE for filming footage of World War II. Crowe's maternal great-great-grandmother was Maori, and his paternal grandfather was from Wrexham, Wales; Russell also has Scottish, Norwegian, English and Irish ancestry in his blood line.In his early years Russell returned to Australia at age 21, intending to apply to the National Institute of Dramatic Art. "I was working in a theatre show, and talked to a guy who was then the head of technical support at NIDA," Crowe recalls. "I asked him what he thought about me spending three years at NIDA. He told me it'd be a waste of time. He said, 'You already do the things you go there to learn, and you've been doing it for most of your life, so there's nothing to teach you but bad habits." In 1987 Crowe spent a six-month stint as a busker when he couldn't find other work.
Of course there is the business of the kidnapping. On 9 March 2005, Crowe revealed to GQ magazine that the FBI agents had approached him prior to the 73rd Academy Awards March 25 2001 and told him that the Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda wanted to kidnap him. Crowe told the magazine that it was the first time he had ever heard of al-Qaeda and was quoted as saying: "You get this late-night call from the FBI when you arrive in Los Angeles, and they're, like, absolutely full-on. 'We’ve got to talk to you now before you do anything. We have to have a discussion with you, Mr Crowe.'" Crowe recalled that "it was something to do with some recording picked up by a French policewoman, I think, in either Libya or Algiers...it was about taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural-destabilisation plan"
Crowe had a relationship with Meg Ryan during and after the filming of Proof Of Life in 2000! Can you believe it? I can't stand Meg Ryan that much and Russell Crowe and Meg Ryan do not seem like they would be a very good match. Which turned out that they indeed were not. Because on April 7th, 2003 his 39th birthday, Crowe married Australian singer and actress Danielle Spencer. Crowe met Spencer while filming The Crossing in1990. Crowe and Spencer have two sons: Charles "Charlie" Spencer born December 21st, 2003 and Tennyson Spencer born 7 July 7th 2006. Prior to his marriage to Spencer, Crowe had a relationship with Meg Ryan during and after the filming of Proof Of Life in 2000.
I thought this was interesting... Crowe stated in November 2007 that he would like to be baptized, and feels that he has put it off for too long. Russell states "I do believe there are more important things than what is in the mind of a man," he says. "There is something much bigger that drives us all. I'm willing to take that leap of faith."
My favorite films include L.A. Confidential, Virtuosity and Gladiator of course. I'm not even into the whole Ancient Rome kill or be killed movies but Russell did the trick for me in Gladiator. Same deal with the Robin Hood movies. I've seen so many! How could this one possibly any different than all the other movies. Same old story. Oh well maybe Russell can pull off the Robin character in this movie like he did for Gladiator.I've been hearing all about the controversy on whether Russell Crowe has an Irish accent during the new film "Robin Hood". Does he have the Northern English accent he is supposed to during this film? I for one don't know because I refuse to watch previews. So I won't find out untill it comes out on DVD. Anyways, here is the full audio, when he walked out of the interview with BBC's Mark Lawson.
9 minutes 16 seconds
Russell Crowe speaks of all the different stories that has now become the Robin Hood we know and how it has been changed over the years.
2 minutes 17 seconds
