Russell Crowe has earned a net worth of $120 million as an actor, film producer, and musician. Crowe’s breakthrough as the renowned Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius in the Oscar-winning film Gladiator (2000) came from his earlier work in television.
For the films The Insider, A Beautiful Mind, and Cinderella Man, he also garnered praise from critics. Russell has been a co-owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs of the National Rugby League since 2006. He has also played in the bands 30 Odd Foot of Grunts and Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God.
Early Life
Star actor Russell Crowe was born Russell Ira Crowe on April 7, 1964, in Wellington, New Zealand. John, his father, was a hotel manager in addition to his work as a caterer on film sets with his wife, Jocelyn. Russell’s maternal grandfather was a cinematographer, and he has three cricketing relatives: cousins Martin and Jeff Crowe, and an uncle named Dave Crowe.
In 1972, Russell made his acting debut in an episode of “Spyforce” (the show’s producer was Jocelyn’s godfather), after his family had relocated to Sydney, Australia. Before returning to New Zealand with his family at age 14, Crowe went to Vaucluse Public School and then Sydney Boys High School.
He began his education in New Zealand at Auckland Grammar School alongside his brother Terry and cousins Martin and Jeff before transferring to Mount Roskill Grammar School and ultimately dropping out at the age of 16 to pursue acting.
Acting Career
Crowe got his start in the theatre industry in 1986, when he was cast as Eddie and Dr. Scott in a New Zealand production of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.” After two years, he reprised his roles in Australian touring production. Russell Crowe played Mickey in an Australian production of “Blood Brothers” in 1988 and Johnny in “Bad Boy Johnny and the Prophets of Doom” the following year.
Russell made his acting debut in the 1990 film The Crossing after appearing in four episodes of the hit Australian soap opera Neighbours in 1987. After that, he was cast in films like “Blood Oath” (also known as “Prisoners of the Sun” in some regions), “Proof,” “Spotswood,” and “Romper Stomper,” for which he received two Australian Film Institute awards.
Starting in 1995, Crowe became a leading man in Hollywood movies, starring alongside Denzel Washington in “Virtuosity” and alongside Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, and Leonardo DiCaprio in “The Quick and the Dead.” Oscar consideration came Russell’s way for “The Insider” (1999), “Gladiator” (2000), and “A Beautiful Mind” (2001).
A few of the over 40 films he’s been in are “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” (2003), “American Gangster” (2007), “Robin Hood” (2010), “Les Misérables” (2012), and “The Mummy” (2017). In the 2019 Showtime miniseries “The Loudest Voice,” he made his television acting return as the disgraced Fox News executive Roger Ailes.
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Paychecks Worth Noting
From the release of Gladiator in 2000, Crowe reaped a $5 million paycheck. In the same year, thanks to “Proof of Life,” he made $7.5 million. He made $15 million from “A Beautiful Mind” in 2001. The $20 million he made for “Master and Commander” in 2003 is equivalent to $28 million in today’s money.
His 2005 “Cinderella Man” earnings were $15 million. His 2010 “Robin Hood” salary was $20 million. Starting around the year 2000, Russell’s 15-ish years of prime earnings potential saw him earn well over $150 million in base movie salaries.
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Career in Music
In the early 1980s, Russell started performing under the name “Russ Le Roq.” In 1984, he oversaw the operations at The Venue in Auckland, New Zealand, and he also released a number of singles there, including the songs “I Just Wanna Be Like Marlon Brando” and “Shattered Glass.”
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Crowe and his friend Billy Dean Cochran formed a band in the 1980s under the name Roman Antix; by 1992, the name had been changed to 30 Odd Foot of Grunts. Until their 2005 dissolution, the band had released an EP, three studio albums, and a live DVD.
Russell Crowe & The Ordinary Fear of God, the band Crowe formed with Canadian musician Alan Doyle, went on a sold-out tour of the United States. Crowe and Doyle’s new band Indoor Garden Party was formed in 2017 and feature Russell’s “Les Misérables” co-star Samantha Barks, actor Scott Grimes, and Swedish musician, Carl Falk.