Born in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 7, 1964, Crowe was raised in Australia from the age of four. His parents made their living by catering movie shoots, and often brought Crowe with them to work; it was while hanging around the various sets that he developed a passion for acting.

Thus his natural interest in film work developed and Russell found himself surrounded by actors from a very early age. The acting bug developed quickly and by the time he was 6 he’d bagged his first line of dialogue in the Aussie TV series Spyforce which kick-started the determination to make himself a household name.

By 25, Russell had managed to gain small acclaim in the Australian films 'Prisoners of The Sun' (1990) and 'The Crossing' (also starring future wife Danielle Spencer, 1990)- which earned his him his first award nomination from the Australian Film Institute for Actor of the Year, eventually winning the AFI Best Supporting Actor award for his role in 'Proof' (1991).

One year after winning the Australian Film Institute's award for best supporting actor for his role in Proof, Russell won best actor for Romper Stomper.

It was his electrifying performance as the vicious Hando that caught the eye of American actress Sharon Stone. She was producing and starring in a Western, Quick and the Dead, and she so desperately wanted Russell for the film that the start of production was delayed so he could finish Sum Of Us.

Then Russell Crowe took the title role in Ridley Scott's big-budgeted summer 2000 release "Gladiator". Playing Maximus, a fallen Roman general turned professional fighter, the actor more than dominated the film, earning rave notices and a Best Actor Academy Award--indeed, it marked Crowe's ascendence to the creme de creme of both Hollywood's A-list actors and most reliable movie stars.

Following the praise surrounding both the film and his performance in it, Crowe found himself working steadily in Hollywood, starring in two films released in 1999: Mystery, Alaska and The Insider.