Leading Role: Russell Crowe

This past Christmas I played a game of trivial pursuit with my brothers and sisters. Trivial Pursuit, in case you were unaware, is a game based on one's knowledge of a wide variety of facts and information. Needless to say, it's in my wheelhouse. Although I planned on dominating, the game didn't exactly transpire how I thought it would. For whatever reason I kept getting the most bizarre and difficult questions while my siblings marched around the board. Finally I got this layup.

What country was Russell Crowe born in?

"Australia, obviously," I said.

Wrong, Russell Crowe was born in New Zealand. I was furious, but if I had only known then what I know now I may have been even more infuriated. Russell Crowe was indeed born in New Zealnd, but he was raised almost entirely in Australia. His family moved there shortly after he was born.

Stumbling upon this information about Crowe's formative years reminded me of something that happened to me in 9th grade English class. For whatever reason our teacher had chosen to spend a few weeks on the book Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. For homework he assigned a few chapters each night for us to read. Naturally I was much too cool to read a book in 9th grade so I either did nothing at all or quickly glanced over sparknotes before class because our teacher periodically gave us pop quizzes to ensure that we were keeping up with the material. After one such pop quiz our teacher had us pass our papers to the person in front of us to be peer graded.

Now the crux of the story rests on the third or fourth question of the quiz. To the best of my memory the question was, "How long has (Character X) known Rebecca?" I didn't have the slightest idea, so I wrote "about her whole life." The correct answer, according to our teacher, was "since she was young". Almost immediately the person grading my paper raised their hand and asked the teacher if my answer was acceptable. Without hesitation my teacher said no and I instinctively remarked, "That's ridiculous." After hearing the correct answer I thought I had the question in the bag. "About her whole life" and "since she was young" are practically the same thing, right? My teacher, a mild-mannered 30 something that all of the girls in my class adored, unexpectedly responded to my outburst by screaming "DO YOU WANT TO SEE RIDICULOUS?" at the top of his lungs. After he said that everything stopped. It seriously felt like someone had hit the pause button in real life because a silent chill seemed to linger over the entire room as I considered whether or not to respond. No one had ever heard our teacher as much as raise his voice, let alone scream like he just had. Still to this day I don't know why he was so angry. Sure I was a smug fifteen year old punk who thought he knew everything, but there must have been some external factors going on. After I shook myself free from a shock feuled daze I quietly surrendered by saying, "No, that's okay." Then as if nothing had happened he just moved on to the next question.

Ok, so back to Russell Crowe. Is it just me or does it not seem right to refer to him as anything other than his full name? I called him Crowe earlier and it didn't feel right. The Russell just rolls right into the Crowe. A few girls in college used to call virtually everybody by their first and last name. It didn't matter who they were talking to/about or how many syllables were involved. I guess it was their thing. For some people's names it seemed like a stretch, but for others it just seemed to work. Russell Crowe, to me anyway, is one of those names that works better as with the given name and the surname in tandem.

To be honest I've never been a big fan of Russell Crowe. Recently I was telling someone about my dislike for him, but when pressed for a reason why I drew a blank. In fact, when I got to thinking about it I realized that I've never seen a bad Russell Crowe film. Not only that, but I don't think he's given a sub par performance in any of his movies that I've seen (although I strongly disliked him for arresting Denzel's character Frank Lucas in American Gangster (2007)).

Ok fine, so he's never given a sub par performance, but which of his performances have been the best? For more on that let's go to the nominees.


1.) Bud White in L.A. Confidential (1997)


In this Oscar nominated film, Russell Crowe plays a hard nosed, tough guy cop who's trying to get to the bottom of a bloody shooting. In the course of his investigation he gets involved with a high class escort (a contradictory title), her pimp, and crooked cops. His blue collar, no bullshit attitude fits him well.

Most Memorable Lines:

Lynn Bracken: You say "fuck" a lot.
Bud White: You fuck for money.

Lynn Bracken: There's blood on your jacket. Is that an integral part of your job?
Bud White: Sometimes.
Lynn Bracken: Do you enjoy it?
Bud White: When they deserve it.
Lynn Bracken: Did they today?
Bud White: I don't know.
Lynn Bracken: But you did it anyway.
Bud White: Yeah, just like the half-dozen guys you screwed today.
Lynn Bracken: Well, actually, it was two.

Pierce Patchett: I use girls that look like movie stars. Sometimes I employ a plastic surgeon. When the work had been done, that's when you saw us.
Bud White: That's why her mother couldn't I.D. her. Jesus fucking Christ.
Pierce Patchett: No, Mr. White. Pierce Morehouse Patchett.

Synopsis- Russell Crowe's performance in the film is certainly reputable, but it doesn't really stand out. I don't know, maybe it was that he was handcuffed a little but because he was part of a three headed protaganist with Kevin Spacey and Guy Pearce. While Bud White is definitely a great character I don't think it's Russell Crowe's best.


2.) Maximus in Gladiator (2000)


This is unquestionably Russell Crowe's most recognizable role. When you hear the name Russell Crowe you think Gladiator. I mean, the film won the Oscar for Best Picture and this role of Maximus won him the Oscar for Best Actor. In case you don't know, in the film Crowe (the novelty of the full name thing has already worn off) plays a former Army General who is forced into slavery, but returns to the lime light by rising through the Gladiator ranks.

Most Memorable Lines:

Maximus: What we do in life.....echoes in eternity.

Maximus: I knew a man once who said, "Death smiles at us all. All a man can do is smile back."
Commodus: I wonder, did your friend smile at his own death?
Maximus: You must know. He was your father.

Maximus: I am required to kill, so I kill. That is enough.

Maximus: My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.

Synopsis- This role is obviously the odds on favorite to take home the hardware and I wouldn't be surprised if it did so in landlside fashion.; however I will say that I think most people liked this movie mainly because of the fight scenes. There's no denying that the action was great, but Crowe won the Oscar because he knocked the dramatic moments out of the park.


3.) Terry Thorne in Proof Of Life (2000)


In this role Crowe plays a hostage negotiator who is called in to track down Meg Ryan's husband, who gets kidnapped in the fictional South American country of Tecala. After spending so much time together Crowe's character begins to have romantintic feelings for Ryan and her character reciprocates them. These emotions are sort of the subplot of the movie, but they seem a bit forced. They end up kissing and in my opinion it comes out of nowhere. The reason I even mention this is because during the filming of the movie Crowe and Ryan began an off screen romantic affair. Oh, the irony. Ryan was married to Dennis Quaid at the time, but soon divorced him. While I feel bad for Quaid, I also think that he should have seen it coming.

According to imdb.com Ryan "met actor Anthony Edwards during the making of the film Top Gun (1986) and moved in with him. They were a couple until she met actor Dennis Quaid during the film Innerspace (1987), and she moved in with and eventually married him." What goes around comes around Quaid. Also, it should be noted that Meg Ryan was born in Fairfield, CT and still has a home there.

Most Memorable Lines:

Alice Bowman: You are the first, you are the only person I've met who knows what they're talking about! So I am begging you, I am totally begging you to help me out on this.
Terry Thorne: You asked me not to bullshit you?
Alice Bowman: Right.
Terry Thorne: I've gotta plane to catch.

Peter Bowman: You're not fucking with me!
Terry Thorne: No mate. I'm for real.

Terry Thorne: This road leads to Alice. This road leads to home.

Alice Bowman: I thought we'd get a chance...
Terry Thorne: What? To sit round and chat? The three of us?

Synopsis- The film was a complete critical and commercial flop, but it does have the distinction of being the first film that I ever Netflixed. I thought it was alright (3 and a half stars out of 5), but I get the feeling that it's one of those movies that people either love or hate. One person that I know loved it is ESPN.Com's own Bill Simmons. In one of his columns he wrote,

(His best hope is for a "Proof of Life"-level comeback. Which reminds me ... with the decade winding to a close, the "Most Underrated Movie of the Decade" title is down to two candidates and only two: "Proof of Life" and "Man On Fire." That's the list. We will accept no other nominations.)

For the record, Man On Fire is much better.


4.) John Nash in A Beautiful Mind (2001)


In this film Crowe plays a groundbreaking mathematician who suffers from paranoid schizophrenia. Based purely on that sentence you should know that he earned a Best Actor nomination from the Academy Awards. I must say that I particularly enjoyed this movie because of the sneaky hot Jennifer Connelly and my favorite supporting actor of all time, Adam Goldberg.

Most Memorable Lines:

Nash: Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter.

Nash: Adam Smith needs revision. If we all go for the blonde and block each other, not a single one of us is going to get her. So then we go for her friends, but they will all give us the cold shoulder because no on likes to be second choice. But what if none of us goes for the blonde? We won't get in each other's way and we won't insult the other girls. It's the only way to win. It's the only way we all get laid.

Nash: She never gets old! Marcee can't be real; she never gets old!

Nash: What truly is logic? Who decides reason? My quest has taken me to the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional, and back. I have made the most important discovery of my career - the most important discovery of my life. It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reason can be found. I am only here tonight because of you. You are the only reason I am. You are all my reasons. Thank you.

Synopsis- I don't think that there's any question that this was Crowe's most challenging role, but was it his best? I would say, yes. It's definitely not the best movie that he's ever been in, but I think it's his best acting performance. If he suddenly died or walked away from acting would this be the role that he was most remembered for? Probably not, but I think it should be.


5.) James Braddock in Cindarella Man (2005)


Not for nothing, this is the best of the five trailers. In the film Crowe plays a poor, beat down boxer who is struggling to provide for his family. Although his boxing skills may have diminished, Crowe's character (Braddock) summons all of his mental and physical strength and takes on the world heavyweight champion. He is clearly outmatched by the German sensation Max Baer, but with nothing more to lose Braddock comes out the victor.

Most Memorable Lines:

James Braddock: I have to believe that when things are bad I can change them.

James Braddock: You think you're telling me something? Like, what, boxing is dangerous, something like that? You don't think working triple shifts and at night on a scaffold isn't just as likely to get a man killed? What about all those guys who died last week living in cardboard shacks to save on rent money just to feed their family, 'cause guys like you have not quite figured out a way yet to make money off of watching that guy die? But in my profession - and it is my profession - I'm a little more fortunate.

Synopsis- Crowe has publicly said that this role is his personal favorite, but that doesn't mean that it's his best. It's a great story and Crowe does an admirable job of portraying Braddock, but it's hard to even consider it as his finest work because Paul Giamatti literally steals the show. Giamatti's Oscar winning role as Braddock's promoter/trainer Joe Gould is simply outstanding.

Top Ten Supporting Performances

Hollywood, like Sports, is driven by the big names. The biggest names are what attract people to the theater, or to the arena, but sometimes it's the lesser known actors, or athletes that steal the spotlight. Just like sometimes Michael Jordan passed to Steve Kerr or John Paxson for the game-winning shot, sometimes the lead actors (Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, etc.) aren't the ones that shine the brightest in films. As many of you know, I am on a personal quest to see every movie that's received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture in my lifetime. With that in mind, I present the top 10 Oscar nominated supporting performances since 1986 (5 of the 10 came away winners). What can I say? I'm all chalk.

10.) Dennis Hopper as Shooter in Hoosiers (1986)




Hoosiers is a classic sports movie about a small town Indiana high school basketball team's journey to the state title. Hopper's character Shooter, the town drunk, is offered the assistant coaching job, but must sober up first. He holds things together for a while, but his old drinking ways resurface and he stumbles into a gym and onto the court to yell at a referee. Shortly after this escapade he is found passed out and drunk in the middle of the woods. He spends the rest of the movie rehabilitating in a hospital, but it appears that he has finally turned the corner.

Memorable lines:

Shooter: Alright, boys, this is the last shot we got. We're gonna run the picket fence at 'em.

Shooter: I know everything there is to know about the greatest game ever invented.

Shooter(drunk): You're out of position to make the call!



9.) Marissa Tomei as Mona Lisa Vito in My Cousin Vinny (1992)



Well in order to appease my female readership, I figured I'd throw in a token female supporting performance. Tomei won an Academy Award for this role as the fiance of a wanna-be lawyer. Vito's brash New York attitude comes to life in a number of arguments that she has with her fiance, Vincent Gambini, played by Joe Pesci. Vito ends up being the key witness in the case because of her knowledge of the auto industry.

Memorable lines:

Mona Lisa Vito: Imagine you're a deer. You're prancing along, you get thirsty, you spot a little brook, you put your little deer lips down to the cool clear water... BAM! A fuckin' bullet rips off part of your head! Your brains are laying on the ground in little bloody pieces! Now I ask ya. Would you give a fuck what kind of pants the son of a bitch who shot you was wearing?

Mona Lisa Vito: I want a wedding in church with bridesmaids and flowers.
Vinny Gambini: Whoa. How many times did you say that spontaneous is romantic?
Lisa Vito: Hey, a burp is spontaneous. A burp is not romantic.


8.) Mark Wahlberg as Sergeant Dignam in The Departed (2006)



Wahlberg would be higher (actually I guess I mean lower) on this list, but it could be argued that Alec Baldwin's role as Ellerby was the better supporting performance. Either way, Wahlberg was in his element with this character. Dignam is a foul mouthed Boston guy with a chip on his shoulder. His heated exchanges with both Matt Damon's character and Leonardo Dicaprio's character were poignant moments in the film.

Memorable lines:

Dignam: I'm the guy that does my job. You must be the other guy.

Dignam: You were kind of a double kid, I bet, right? One kid with your old man. One kid with your mother. Upper middle class in the week, and then dropping your 'r's and hanging in the Southie projects with daddy the donkey on the weekends. I got that right? You have different accents? You did, didn't you.

Dignam: Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe fuck yourself. My theory on Feds is they're like mushrooms. Feed 'em shit and keep in the dark. You girls have a nice day.

Colin Sullivan: A problem?
Dignam: Yeah, I run rat rucks like you. I don't like them.
Colin Sullian: The day you wouldn't take a promotion, you let me know. And I wouldn't even have a job if you did yours.
Dignam: Fuck yourself.
Colin Sullivan: I need to know the identity of your undercovers.
Dignam: Blow me. Not literally, there's no promotion in it for ya.


7.) Christopher Walken as Frank Abagnale Sr. in Catch Me If You Can (2002)



Walken is the ultimate supporting actor. The thought of him playing a lead role is hard to even fathom. In this film, Walken plays the father of a high profile con man (played by Leonardo Dicaprio). Walken's character never stops trying to instill life lessons in his son, even when he knows there's no changing his fraudulent ways.

Memorable line:



6.) Joe Pesci as Tommy Devito in Goodfellas (1990)




Pesci won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of the hot-headed gangster Tommy DeVito. Throughout the course of the film, DeVito becomes a psychotic murderer who acts on impulse and deals with the consequences later. His violent and explosive temper get him into trouble, but wouldn't you know that this personality type seems to bring out the best in Pesci.


Memorable lines:





5.) Edward Norton as Aaron Stampler in Primal Fear (1996)



Norton plays an altar boy accused of brutally murdering a high ranking Catholic Priest. His fate seems sealed until Richard Gere, who plays a hot shot lawyer, swoops in to defend the stuttering young Aaron. Gere later finds out that Aaron has a split personality. His alter ego is the highly aggressive Roy. The ending contains a nice twist and I don't want to ruin it for those of you that haven't seen it. Just know that this role was Norton's coming out party because of how he handled the two polar opposite personalities.

Memorable line: (Spoiler Alert)

Well, good for you, Marty. I was gonna let it go. You were looking so happy just now. I was thinking...To tell you the truth, I'm glad you figured it. 'Cause I have been dying to tell you. I just didn't know who you'd wanna hear it from. Aaron or Roy, Roy or Aaron. Well, I'll let you in on a client- attorney-privilege type of secret. It don't matter who you hear it from. It's the same story. I j-j-just...had to kill Linda, Mr Vail. That cunt just got what she deserved. But...cutting up that son of a bitch Rushman......that was just a fucking work of art.

4.) Kevin Spacey as Roger "Verbal" Kint in The Usual Suspects (1995)



Spacey won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, but he was basically the lead. In the film, he plays a crippled criminal who is in a police station recounting his memories after a bloody heist of a ship's cargo. His character has immunity so a little bit of a cat and mouse game arises between he and the police investigator (played by Chazz Palminteri, who is best known for his role as Sonny in A Bronx Tale). Spacey's character seems to be very forthright with what he knows, but the police investigator has a feeling that he is withholding something. He can't quite put it all together, but must before time runs out.

Memorable Line:

Verbal: Who is Keyser Soze? He is supposed to be Turkish. Some say his father was German. Nobody believed he was real. Nobody ever saw him or knew anybody that ever worked directly for him, but to hear Kobayashi tell it, anybody could have worked for Soze. You never knew. That was his power. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist. And like that, poof. He's gone.


3.) Cuba Gooding Jr. as Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire (1996)



First things first, who knew that Tidwell was just Anquan Boldin before Anquan Boldin? Same team. Same position. Same type of player. Both looking for a big contract. The similarities are startling.

In the film, Gooding Jr. plays a star wide receiver for the Arizona Cardinals that wants his agent Jerry Maguire, played by Tom Cruise, to get him the big time contract that he thinks he deserves. In fact, his most famous line is of course, "Show me the money." As the movie progresses we learn that there is actually a genuine person behind the animated receiver. Tidwell, ego aside, ends up teaching Maguire a lot about loyalty, friendship, and family. Gooding Jr's. performance was recognized with the Oscar in 1997.


Memorable lines:

Rod Tidwell: I am a valuable commodity! I go across the middle! I see a dude coming at me, trying to kill me, I tell myself "Get killed. Catch the ball!' BOO YA! Touchdown! I make miracles happen!

Rod Tidwell: You're hanging by a very thin thread, dude. And I dig that about you.

Rod Tidwell: See, man, that's the difference between us. You think we're fighting, I think we're finally talking!


2.) Heath Ledger as The Joker in The Dark Knight (2008)




As we all know, this role won Ledger the Oscar, but it also cost him his life. He was outstanding as The Joker. He literally stole the movie. His personality, mannerisms, and downright lunacy had me rooting for him instead of the bland and uninspiring Christian Bale Batman. It's truly a tragedy to think that ramped drug use heavily influenced this prolific performance, but then took the life of the actor shortly thereafter.

Memorable lines:

The Joker: Oh, you. You just couldn't let me go, could you? This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object. You are truly incorruptible, aren't you? Huh? You won't kill me out of some misplaced sense of self-righteousness. And I won't kill you because you're just too much fun. I think you and I are destined to do this forever

The Joker: Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the... little emotions. In... you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are. So in a way, I know your friends better than you ever did. Would you like to know which of them were cowards?

The Joker: It wasn't hard. You see, madness, as you know, is like gravity. All it takes is a little push.


1.) Jack Nicholson as Colonel Nathan R. Jessep in A Few Good Men (1992)



The fact that Nicholson didn't win the Academy Award back in 1993 is an absolute travesty (Gene Hackman won for his performance in Unforgiven). The role of Jessep, an arrogant Army Colonel, was perfect for Nicholson. When I see him sitting court side at Laker games, I imagine that his off screen personality is just like that of Colonel Nathan R. Jessep's. There's been some great court room moments in the history of film, but I don't think any are as powerful as when Jessep takes the stand. In fact, I would argue that is one of the best scenes of all time. Whenever I catch this movie, and especially this scene, on television I get sucked in and watch it until the end.


Memorable Lines:






Because that list was rather uninspired (all of them were Oscar nominated), I'll also throw out a few more great supporting performances. Clive Owen in Inside Man (2006), Will Ferrel in Wedding Crashers (2005), Gene Hackman in Enemy of the State (1998), Rob Corddry in What Happens in Vegas (2008), Willem Dafoe in Platoon (1985) and Brad Pitt in Fight Club (1999).

Feel free to let me know if you think of any others.