The Russell Crowe Comeback?

brent johnson looks at one of his favorite actors, russell crowe, and if robin hood can the star’s return to his red-hot acting form from the early 2000s …


So Ridley Scott’s reboot of Robin Hood came out this week. And to many people, that means a chance to see a popcorn flick from a great director — Gladiator with bows and arrows, if you will.

But to me, it’s another chance to see something else: If Russell Crowe will make a comeback.

It’s not that the brooding, phone-throwing Aussie’s career is in the dumps. But it has been sagging. Especially in my eyes.

Gladiator came out a decade ago, establishing Crowe as a vital star and winning him his only Oscar to date. I was 17 and impressed with how he elevated what could have been a standard action flick into a wonderful study in burning-anger acting.

Then, a year later, I was blown over. That’s when A Beautiful Mind hit theaters, and Crowe — as troubled, quirky Princeton math whiz John Nash — was a thrill to watch. He was a boiled pot of fizzed-out nerves, pent-up aggression and scared-straight fear. To me, THAT was an actor — someone who sent a charge through your veins as you sat in your megaplex seat.

He mesmerized me. A Beautiful Mind brought him his third straight Oscar nod (following The Insider and Gladiator), and I thoroughly thought he’d score a half-dozen more in the coming years. I even patiently waited as my dial-up computer took 10 minutes to pull up a Crowe fansite, so I could learn tid-bits of his upcoming projects.

I also went back and watched his breakout role: as a paranoid whistle-blower in The Insider. I learned two things: 1. Not only was Crowe the best actor in the business, throwing himself into every nuance, but he also was a master of accents, easily pulling off suburban New Yawker and hillside West Vahginia. And 2. He actually won his Best Actor Oscar for the wrong movie: He was great in Gladiator, but he was far better in The Insider and far, far better in A Beautiful Mind.

As for as the latter, Denzel Washington took home the trophy for Training Day that year. Really? Well, I know one reason why that happened. Crowe nabbed every other major acting award for A Beautiful Mind that year. But around that time, his bad-boy image and sizzling temper took over the headlines. He started throwing phones and making arrogant acceptance speeches. And the Academy, which is all about appearances, must have hated that.

Not only did he fail to win the Oscar in 2001, but the man who I once saw as his generation’s top actor has never been nominated since. Of course, he should have been. It’s sad he went nom-less for Master And Commander and ridiculous he didn’t get a nod for Cinderella Man. But it’s not a surprise.

But something else happened along the way: Russell Crowe became boring. He was either paint-by-numbers action boy (Body Of Lies, State Of Play) or lackluster, second-rate Russell Crowe (American Gangster). Other actors became more enthralling to me: the effortless cool of George Clooney, the cocky comic timing of Robert Downey Jr.

Robin Hood, though, seems like it can change that. I read Crowe went into his trademark method mode, learning how to shoot a bow and arrow. And he’s flanked by the transcendent talent of Cate Blanchett — good actors inspire other good actors. Plus, it’s the kind of role that can draw the subdued-yet-energized power Crowe once emoted.

I want my favorite actor to be alive again. Here’s another chance.