The Gladiator turns 60 | Luxembourg word

It’s a long way from a celebrated gladiator to a papal exorciser of devils. For actor Russell Crowe, the years between the two roles were characterized by many ups, but recently also more and more downs. It has been more than 20 years since the native New Zealander and resident of Australia was at the peak of his success – with blockbusters such as “LA Confidential”, “A Beautiful Mind – Genius and Madness”, “Master & Commander – Till the End”. of the World” and of course the star role as “Gladiator”.

With a shaggy beard and a large belly, Crowe today has little in common with the robust fighter from ancient Rome. This Sunday, April 7th, the father of two, who is also a successful singer, is celebrating his 60th birthday.

Great praise

As the fearless and heroic Maximus Decimus Meridius, Crowe thrilled film fans around the world in 2000’s “Gladiator.” In Germany alone, more than 3.4 million people flocked to the cinemas by the beginning of 2001. A little later he received the Oscar for his convincing performance in the epic directed by Ridley Scott. Crowe dominates the entire film, praised the trade magazine “Hollywood Reporter”: “Sexy and determined, a man of action, covered in blood but never bowed down.” Nothing more is possible.

Crowe was nominated for the Oscar for Best Actor three times in a row between 2000 and 2002 – only a few had achieved this before him, including Hollywood legends Jack Nicholson and Al Pacino. The first nomination was in 2000 for “Insider” alongside Al Pacino, and the last nomination was in 2002 for Ron Howard’s masterpiece “A Beautiful Mind,” in which he played the mathematician John Nash. Both times Crowe ultimately came away empty-handed.

“Great guy, loves rugby, brilliant actor, loved new friend. He will carry on the baton,” said his fellow actor Richard Harris (1930-2002) shortly before his death about the celebrated star, although already famous for his short-tempered character. “He drives the Hollywood bigwigs crazy, but he’s far too good for them to ignore.”

A lot of dedication

He proved again and again how good he was through many sacrifices – including physical ones – for his film roles. For his portrayal of the 50-year-old chemist Jeffrey Wigand in “Insider,” he gained more than 20 kilos and dyed his full head of hair before finally having it shaved off completely so that the thin gray wig looked more realistic. For “The Comeback” (original title “Cinderella Man”, 2005), however, he lost a lot of weight and underwent intensive boxing training. The reward for so much dedication was five Golden Globe nominations between 1999 and 2005 alone.

But then came airs and scandals, coupled with outbursts of anger and violence. The roles became smaller or were chosen poorly. Crowe was at times ridiculed by critics, for example for the Bible adaptation “Noah” in 2014. Other films were little more than better B movies, such as the action thriller “Unhinged”, in which Crowe terrorizes a young mother, who upset the driver in a traffic jam by honking.

Crowe revealed how he chooses his roles to the German Press Agency in an interview in 2020. “I read as many scripts as possible and then follow my feeling. I often choose things that I haven’t done before.” He initially hesitated about “Unhinged” because he was too afraid of the truth of this film. “But over the course of my career, I’ve come to this point again and again where the things that scare me the most are also what attract me.”

Better country than Hollywood hustle and bustle

Even though his work regularly takes him to Los Angeles, he lives with his family far away from the hustle and bustle of Hollywood – on a 400-hectare farm in the Australian state of New South Wales, surrounded by cattle, horses, chickens and dogs. “I bought the piece of land 24 years ago, before I made the movie LA Confidential, it was my first big purchase,” he said.

Giving up this place of residence and retreat was never an option: “I would only move to Los Angeles if New Zealand and Australia were engulfed by a tidal wave, if there was a bubonic plague in England, and if the African continent was destroyed by a Martian attack would,” he once said.

In 2003, on his 39th birthday, he married Australian singer and actress Danielle Spencer, with whom he has two sons. The couple separated amicably in 2012 and divorced in 2018. The two are said to maintain a friendly relationship. On Crowe’s 59th birthday last year, Spencer posted on Instagram: “20 years ago today I married the father of my sons. Even though we no longer celebrate our wedding anniversary, it is still this man’s birthday. All the best.”

Also read:

“My name is Gladiator”

Where the eternal gladiator’s film career will go remains to be seen. Instead of an Oscar, he was recently nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award for “Worst Actor” for the second time: After 2018 for his supporting role in the adventure film “The Mummy,” he was now nominated for his work as an exorciser in the horror thriller “The Pope’s Exorcist. However, there were also positive voices – and he was spared the dubious fame: At the beginning of March, Jon Voight (“Mercy”) was awarded the Anti Prize. Meanwhile, his most famous film success continues without him: “Gladiator 2” by Ridley Scott is scheduled to hit theaters in November.