'''Russell Ira Crowe''' (born April 7, 1964 in Wellington, New Zealand) is an Oscar-winning New Zealand-Australian film actor.
Early life and career
Crowe was born in Wellington, New Zealand, of British, and Norwegian descent. When he was four years old, his family moved to Australia, where his parents pursued a career in filmset catering. His maternal grandfather, Stan Wemyss, was a cinematographer who, according to Crowe, produced the first film by New Zealander, Geoff Murphy.
[http://franklovece.com/subpage2.html#croweNewsday] The producer of the Australian TV series ''Spyforce'' was his mother's godfather, and Crowe at age five or six was hired for a line of dialogue in one episode, opposite series star Jack Thompson, who years later played Crowe's father in ''
The Sum of Us'' and who coincidentally had been educated at the same school which Crowe was to attend for two years. This was Sydney Boys High School.
When he was 14, however, Crowe's family moved back to New Zealand, where he attended Auckland Grammar School. He did not complete secondary school, leaving early to help his family financially. In the mid-1980's Russell, under guidance from his good mate Tom Sharplin, performed as a rock'n'roll revivalist, under the stage name ''Russ Le Roq'', and had a New Zealand single with "I wanna be Marlon Brando".
Crowe returned to Australia at age 21, intending to apply to the National Institute of Dramatic Art. "I was working in a theater show, and talked to a guy who was then the head of technical support at NIDA," Crowe recalled. "I asked him what he thought about me spending three years at NIDA. He told me it'd be a waste of time. He said, 'You already do the things you go there to learn, and you've been doing it for most of your life, so there's nothing to teach you but bad habits.'"
[http://franklovece.com/subpage2.html#croweNewsday] In 1987 Crowe spent a six month stint as a busker when he couldn't find other work.
[http://russellcrowe.5u.com/Interviews/JuiceMagazine_5_93.html]After appearing in the TV series ''Neighbours'', ''Living with the Law'' and ''The Late Show (Australian TV series)'' as 'Shirty' - The Slightly Aggressive Bear, Crowe was cast in his first film, ''
The Crossing'' (1990), a small-town love triangle directed by George Ogilvie. Before production started, a film-student protege of Ogilvie's, Steve Wallace, hired Crowe for the film "Blood Oath," a.k.a. "Prisoners of the Sun" (1990), which was released a month earlier, although actually filmed later.
Hollywood
After initial success in Australia, Crowe began acting in American films. He went on to become a three-time Oscar nominee, winning the Academy Award as Best Actor in 2001 for ''
Gladiator''. Crowe wore his
