Russell Crowe cuts BBC interview short over suggestion his accent in Robin Hood sounds Irish

[Amby 490]

Ugh Prince of Thieves was horrible. That's the one where they walk from Dover to Hadrian's Wall to get to Nottingham

soooo...I don't really think he sounded irish. maybe every once in awhile, but he never really had any long speeches for me to listen long enough to decide.

[KaiserD 12]

Crow might be a diva, but he's no Christian Bale

Besides all this is moot. It doesn't have Richard Armitage in it, so there's no way I'm going to see it *sighs*

[Fandango 1,440]

RC is a t!t. CB is a bigger t!t.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Crow might be a diva, but he's no Christian Bale

Besides all this is moot. It doesn't have Richard Armitage in it, so there's no way I'm going to see it *sighs*

Yeah but you don't really know how Crowe behaves on-set. Crowe has actually beaten people up in public, on quite a few occasions. Seems to have a big problem taking any sort of criticism.

[KaiserD 12]

Yeah but you don't really know how Crowe behaves on-set. Crowe has actually beaten people up in public, on quite a few occasions. Seems to have a big problem taking any sort of criticism.

Yeah he just hasn't been caught on video phone yet

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjXLJD2ppyo

[KaiserD 12]

Man he's so grumpy. Also, his beard looks sharper then that knifey short sword thing he's holding.

[Pooky 3,930]

Yeah but you don't really know how Crowe behaves on-set. Crowe has actually beaten people up in public, on quite a few occasions. Seems to have a big problem taking any sort of criticism.

And yet, most producers and directors who have worked with Russell Crowe have nothing but praise for his talent and on-set work ethic.

Crowe is character actor in leading man’s body

Star can play heroes such as ‘Robin Hood’ plus bring nuances to small roles

There once was an old “Saturday Night Live” skit in which Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner argued over whether a particular product was a floor wax or a dessert topping. In stepped Chevy Chase to settle the matter: It was a floor wax AND a dessert topping, he declared. A rare combination indeed.

Cut to Hollywood, present day. That argument might very well be raging anew — not over an aerosol can labeled “New Shimmer,” but rather about an actor named Russell Crowe.

“He’s a leading man!”

“No, he’s a character actor!”

“Hey, calm down, you two. He’s a leading man AND a character actor!”

In his new film “Robin Hood,” which opens May 14, the debate is temporarily moot. The trailer and one-sheets clearly define Crowe as a leading man: brawny, forceful, defiant, someone to follow into battle. He carries a bow and arrow and he knows how to use it. Quiver? That’s for his enemies. Crowe has played the leading man before in such films as “Gladiator” — for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor — and “Proof of Life.”

Yet he also excels in roles in which he has to become someone else entirely. He received Oscar nominations for two such parts, in “A Beautiful Mind” and “The Insider.”

The actor has played both heroes and bad guys onscreen, and also made some off-screen headlines.

It could also be said that Crowe likes hybrids: The roles he played in “American Gangster,” “3:10 to Yuma,” “Cinderella Man” and “L.A. Confidential” were chameleon-like enough to qualify as character parts, but also had the rugged masculinity to fit in the leading man category.

“Any movie that he’s in I’m intrigued to see, just because he’s in it,” said Claudia Puig, longtime film critic for USA Today. “I’m actually more of a fan of his character roles than his big action films like ‘Gladiator’ or ‘Robin Hood.’ I like to see him in intelligent roles.

“There’s so much nuance and depth in those kinds of parts, as opposed to being brawny and yelling. He has a very masculine presence and it works in those roles, but he can show more of his instrument and his depth in smaller character-driven roles.”

Reputation may have only burnished credentials

The word “difficult” follows Crowe around like a member of the paparazzi, but in fairness, it has been used often to describe anyone in Hollywood with an independent streak. Sometimes that label can scare off potential employers. In Crowe’s case, it seems to have burnished his already golden credentials.

“Bad boy behavior is tolerated, even somewhat vicariously enjoyed by some people. It’s certainly enjoyed by rock stars,” noted Todd McCarthy, longtime film critic for Variety who recently joined indiewire.com. “(Marlon) Brando had that quality.”

Crowe once threw a phone at a hotel employee. He was involved in a much-publicized affair with Meg Ryan. He has battled with producers and snarled at reporters.

Yet each time he acts in a film, it’s an event. “His success as an actor has nothing to do with the cult of personality or a magnetic persona, as it does with quite a few other actors,” Puig explained. “Quite the opposite. In fact, he’s by many accounts notoriously difficult.

“He’s known for being just as demanding of himself as he appears to be of others. And the fact that so many directors, and actors, want to work with him speaks volumes about his talent, pure and simple. They’ll put up with whatever other aspects about him are difficult because he is so exceptionally skilled at what he does. That is not often the case in Hollywood, where volatile actors often see their careers falter, if not completely disappear.

“If you get a reputation of being hard to work with, that can be the death knell for your career. But such never seems to be the case with Crowe, whose talent outweighs the troublesome side.”

In the 2007 release “American Gangster,” Crowe played Richie Roberts, a New York detective on the trail of heroin kingpin Frank Lucas (Denzel Washington). The film was directed by Ridley Scott, who also worked with Crowe on “Gladiator,” “Body of Lies,” “A Good Year” and the upcoming “Robin Hood.”

Academy Award-winning screenwriter and director Steven Zaillian wrote the screenplay for “American Gangster” and said it is Crowe’s commitment to his craft that puts him in his own stratosphere.

“Like anything else, there has to be some innate talent to act,” Zaillian said. “To do it well — again, like anything — there has to be a good work ethic, which includes preparation.

“What sets Russell apart from other good actors — and which allows him, I think, to be convincing in both leading and character roles — are his real-life experiences. He wasn’t always an actor, and isn’t now only an actor. He has — and had — a life of interests apart from film, which he can draw from for his work in film.

“In ‘American Gangster,’ he brought — like he has to so many other parts – intelligence, authority, realism, and, to even further round it out, humor.”

Said Nick Pileggi, himself an Oscar-nominated screenwriter for “Goodfellas” who served as executive producer on “American Gangster,” of Crowe’s performance in that film: “His presence was critical. It would not have been as good a movie without him, even though it already had Denzel Washington, Ridley Scott and a Steve Zaillian script.”

McCarthy said Crowe is good enough to push even further beyond categorization. Back during awards season for “Gladiator,” McCarthy moderated a panel discussion that included Scott. Crowe arrived as a special surprise guest to pay tribute to Scott.

“I remember he broke into song, and his voice was so great I thought, ‘He should do a musical,’” McCarthy said. “He did ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ in Australia when he was young. He could be great in a Rodgers and Hammerstein, or a Lerner and Loewe. He’s extremely versatile.”

When describing Crowe, McCarthy again turns to Brando, arguably the greatest film actor ever.

“He’s (Crowe) one of those actors you just watch. He’s interesting just being there,” he said. “I like him in brooding introspective roles, like Brando. He just holds you. You feel the pent-up emotion and the brooding in him because I think he’s a turbulent guy, like Brando. That works to his benefit.”

Whatever Crowe has, it appears to work for him. “As for how he’s regarded in Hollywood,” Zaillian said, “I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t put him very near, or at, the top.”

Michael Ventre is a frequent contributor to TODAYshow.com.

Read more: http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/36789677/ns/today-entertainment/page/2/#ixzz0o73pAe80

Original Article

[Gary and Alla 3,696]

And what?

[Ban Hammer 14,636]

And what?

the way people are trash talking crowe, it's like he's announced he's a republican.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

And yet, most producers and directors who have worked with Russell Crowe have nothing but praise for his talent and on-set work ethic.

That's as may be - but you surely have to wonder about someone who loses their temper over a comment about an accent. It doesn't sound like the guy has very good impulse control. Can someone like that really keep their temper under wraps when they're at work?

[Pooky 3,930]

That's as may be - but you surely have to wonder about someone who loses their temper over a comment about an accent. It doesn't sound like the guy has very good impulse control. Can someone like that really keep their temper under wraps when they're at work?

Apparently, he does a pretty good job at it. From the article, it seems he's even harder on himself than he is on others, and the people that work with him are more often than not willing to cut him some slack because of it.

Needless to say, he sells films and has top people lining up to work with him, so the benefits of working with him seem to outweigh any problems.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

Yeah but the same could have been said about Oliver Reed or Richard Harris - who were notorious wild men in their day and were never short of work.

Crowe is certainly not the worst.

Producers and directors have been known to go quite far out of their way to cater to the eccentricities of big name actors and deal with their temper tantrums.

[ScratchIt 12]

BY could take them both.

Diva Takedown 2010!!! Which prima dona takes home the tiara?

[KaiserD 12]

Diva Takedown 2010!!! Which prima dona takes home the tiara?

That's what I'm talkin `bout! A sense of humour