Russell Crowe
Headline:
"Angry? Me? Never"
Synopsis:
It's family bliss for Russell Crowe now, but he'll raise hell in roles as a CIA agent and Robin Hood.
Russell Crowe swaggers into our interview looking like he wants to pick a fight. Plonking himself into a chair, the 44-year-old actor alternatively sports a deeply sarcastic smile or an irritated scowl.
"Okey, dokey. Goody, goody," he says, smiling affably. The effect is alarming, akin to a barracuda smiling at you.
Having put on 50lb of flab for his role as a CIA agent in Ridley Scott's political thriller Body of Lies, he's barely recognisable on screen, speaking in a Southern accent he says he based on Bill Clinton's. Today, he's solid muscle, with shoulder-length oily hair slicked back into a ponytail.
So how did he prepare for this role? "Preparation? I picked up a bag, I put a pair of underwear in it and I got on a plane. There you go – preparation done," he says, slapping his hands together. "How many times have you seen me do it in the last 20 years? A lot. Whatever the character needs, I'll get to that point. It's no big deal. I was at 88 kilos when Ridley called and asked if I'd mind putting on a load of weight. I was at 117 kilos when the movie started, and I've been coming down slowly. I'm at about 95 kilos at the moment, maybe a little less.
- Publish date:
- 7 November 2008
- Author:
- Gill Pringle
- Source:
- The Independent
- Media:
