Body of Lies
Leonardo DiCaprio burst into the scene in Titanic and quickly became Hollywood's golden boy, stealing a string of young girl's hearts along the way. However after teaming up with Martin Scorsese he appeared in a string of very high profile movies that led Oscar nominations and he moved from being just a pin-up to a highly respected actor.
Russell Crowe's talent in front of the camera has never been in doubt but it was his off camera antics that somewhat tarnished his reputation. But performances in the likes of Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind cemented him as one of the industry's most versatile and exciting talents.
To celebrate the release of Body of Lies, where these two actors come face to face, FemaleFirst put the pair head to head.
Roles
Russell Crowe began his career in Australia before moving to Hollywood and he made a name for himself with roles in The Quick and the Dead, Virtuosity and LA Confidential throughout the nineties. But it was his role as Maximus Decimus Meridius in Gladiator that signaled his arrival in Hollywood, securing his an Oscar.
Since then he has had a string of successful roles including A Beautiful Mind, Cinderella Man and Master and Commander. Apart from A Good Year 2007 was another strong year for the actor as he and Christian Bale were praised for their role in the remake of 3.10 to Yuma before he rounded off the year with the critically acclaimed American Gangster, which reunited him with Virtuosity co-star Denzel Washington.
After roles in Romeo and Julie, Titanic and The Man in the Iron Mask Leonard DiCaprio was loved by girls the world over and was a true Hollywood pin-up. But in 2002 the young actor changed the course of his career by teaming up with director Martin Scorsese starring in Gangs of New York and The Aviator, which led to attention for his acting and not just his looks.
After the success of Blood Diamond, for which he was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar, and The Departed in 2006 2007 was a quiet year for DiCaprio as he worked on his documentary The 11th Hour.
Box Office
Both American Gangster and 3.10 to Yuma opened at number one at the American box office, 3.10 to Yuma being a surprise hit, however A Good Year did not receive the same success after it received mixed reviews with the critics.
But his most successful movie remains Gladiator which grossed over $457 million at the international box office in 2001. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was also a box office hit.
Leonardo DiCaprio's box office success, as you can imagine, has been quite good with the biggest grossing movie of all time, in the form of Titanic, under his belt.
After the critical panning of The Beach DiCaprio changed the course of his career and in recent years has found major success, both critically and commercially with Blood Diamond and Gangs of New York both doing well. However his mot successful movies have been The Aviator and Scorsese's The Departed.
Awards
Russell Crowe got his hands on the golden statuette that is the Best Actor Oscar for his role in Gladiator, as well as four others including Best Picture. He had been nominated the previous year for his role in The Insider.
Another Best Actor nomination followed in 2001 for the role of John Nash in A Beautiful Mind, losing out to Denzel Washington. Since then he has had nominations at the Golden Globes for Master and Commander and Screen Actors Guild for Cinderella Man.
Despite Leonardo not quite getting his hands on the Oscar his has come mighty close being nominated for Best Actor in 2004 and 2006 for roles in The Aviator and Blood Diamond as well as a Golden Globe for his role in The Departed, which went on to win Best Picture and best Director at the 2007 Oscars.
However he did earn his first Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for best Supporting Actor back in 1992, at the tender age of nineteen, for his role in What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
In the Tabloids
Around the time of his Gladiator fame Russell Crowe was perhaps just as well known for his temper and altercations as he was for his big screen performances.
His appearance at the 2002 BAFTA awards was marred by his verbal attack on television producer Malcolm for cutting his acceptance speech, and it has been suggested that this outburst contributed to him not winning the Oscar for A Beautiful mind.
And in 2005 he was arrested and charged with second degree assault after he threw a telephone at an employee of Mercer Hotel. He was sentenced to conditional release, and paid US$100,000 to settle a civil lawsuit out of court.
While Leo night not have hit the headlines for his uncontrollable temper his love life has kept the tabloids interested for years as he dated a string of beauties including Gisele Bundchen, Kristen Zang, Vanessa Hayden,Sara Foster, Helena Christensen and most recently Bar Rafaeli.
Within the last twelve months it is Leo's environmental standing that has hit the headlines as he made film The 11th Hour to highlight the damage that we are doing to the planet.
Body of Lies is released 21st November
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw