Actor Russell Crowe was destined to work in movies, originally born in New Zealand at the age of four his family moved to Australia were his parents worked in on-set catering.And at the tender age of five he got his first taste of being in front of the cameras when he was hired to deliver a line of dialogue in an episode of Spyforce.When the Crowe family moved back to New Zealand he strayed away from acting to go into music with a single I Wanna Be Like Marlon Brando under the stage name of Russ le Roq.At the age of twenty one he returned to Australia and was talked out of applying to the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) by the head of technical support who claimed it was a waste of time.Slowly Crowe began to break into television with parts in Neighbours and Police Rescue before going on to star in a string of Australian movies including The Sum of Us, Blood Oath and 1992's Romper Stomper.After the success in Australia he began to break into American movies. In 1995 he landed the role of Cort in The Quick and the Dead alongside Sharon Stone, Gene Hackamn and a young Leonardo DiCaprio.
Later that same year he starred with Denzel Washington, for the first time, in sci-fi film Virtuosity. Crowe played the virtual villain SID 6.7 who tried to escape into the real world.
Two years later he was a controversial choice for the role of Officer Wendell 'Bud' White in LA Confidential, he unknown status troubled backer Arnon Milchan, but the film went on to be nominated for nine Oscars.
But it was 2000 that was really the year that moved Crowe onto the Hollywood A List with his role as Maximus in Ridley Scott's Gladiator. His performance earnt him his second Oscar nomination for Best actor, he was nominated the previous for his role in The Insider, which he went on to win.
2001 saw him receive his third consecutive nomination for Best Actor for his role in A Beautiful Mind about the schizophrenic mathematician John Nash, but he lost out to Denzel Washington.
In 2005 he re-teamed with A Beautiful Mind director Ron Howard in Cinderella Man alongside Renee Zellweger about the real life story of heavyweight boxing champion James. J Braddack.
2007 has already been a good year for the actor receiving praise for his role as Ben Wade in James Mangold's western 3:10 to Yuma alongside Christian Bale.
His next release American Gangster sees him re-team with old friend Denzel Washington for the first time in over a decade.
I American Gangster Crowe's Detective Richie Roberts has the task of bringing down Frank Lucas' (Washington) drug empire.
Next year he will once again star with Leonardo DiCaprio in Body of Lies, which also re-unites him with Gladiator director Ridley Scott.
American Gangster is released 16th November.
Helen Earnshaw