‘He never did’: Hollywood megastar Russell Crowe’s verdict on Anthony Albanese

Hollywood megastar Russell Crowe’s thoughts on Anthony Albanese’s leadership have emerged in a clip circulating on social media.

A glowing endorsement of Anthony Albanese by Hollywood megastar Russell Crowe has resurfaced, with the actor declaring Australia is “lucky” to have him as prime minister.

The Gladiator actor sat down for an interview with Sky News in April 2023 to promote a movie when the topic of conversation turned to politics.

Mr Albanese is a long-time supporter and life member of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, the NRL club Crowe bought a stake in some two decades ago.

The pair have known each other for about 25 years, Crowe revealed.

Anthony Albanese with Russell Crowe at a Rabbitohs game.

“Here’s what I’ll tell you about Anthony Albanese,” Crowe said.

“When I took over the club every man and his dog asked me for stuff, you know. And he never did.

“He never did. And he always turned up. If there was something big going on for the club and we wanted his presence he always turned up. And he kept up his own membership and he buys his own tickets.

“Of course, if he’d asked me for something I would have said yeah, but he never did. Because if he wanted to go to the game he was going for his own reasons.

“You know, that to me shows the quality of the guy.”

Russell Crowe owns a 25 per cent stake in the South Sydney Rabbitohs. Picture: Getty

Those kind words have come to light again after being shared by New South Wales Labor MP Ron Hoenig on his Instagram and Facebook profiles.

“Irrespective of your politics, Russell is the describing the same person I have known for nearly four decades,” Mr Hoenig wrote. “It’s worth a listen.”

Elsewhere in the interview, which originally aired two years ago, Crowe declared the country was “really lucky” to have Mr Albanese in the top job.

“With all the opaque bulls**** we’ve had to deal with for the last 10 or 15 years, we’ve got a guy who is at least going to tell us the truth.

“Now he might not make the decisions that you want individually every time, but over time what Anthony will do is improve the lives of the people in this country.

“And that is a politician’s job, not the other bulls**** we have seen from people who have pretended to be in that position in the last decade or so, the actual job of improving people’s lives and that’s what I believe he is going to do for us.”

Anthony Albanese is a life member of the Rabbitohs and its number one ticket holder.

Russell Crowe revealed he’s known the PM for about 25 years.

It’s not hugely surprising, given the star provided a voiceover to a Labor campaign advertisement back in 2022.

But interestingly, Crowe appeared on US media identity Joe Rogan’s podcast in August last year and again shared his view on politics.

Although it centred on American power dynamics, he did briefly veer into Australian territory by noting the influence of the Teal movement.

“We have a very interesting thing that’s happening in Australia at the moment, which is the rise of independents, where non-party-affiliated people are standing,” he said.

“The main parties have to deal with the fact those independents bring a non-party-line series of points to the argument.

“It’s working well. It’s working for us. It’s making both of the main parties re-examine who they are and what they stand for.”

Russell Crowe at the NRL 2015 Grand Final.

Crowe teamed up with businessman Peter Holmes a Court in 2006 to buy the then-beleaguered Rabbitohs for $3 million.

The Rich Lister sold his share in 2014.

Crowe remains an owner alongside billionaires James Packer and Atlassian co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes.

The prime minister came to Mr Crowe’s defence earlier this year when a report claimed the actor was preparing to sell his 25 per cent stake in the Rabbitohs.

While he quickly shot down the claim, describing it as “bulls***”, Mr Albanese was pressed on the matter in an appearance on Channel 7’s Sunrise in January.

The latest Newspoll shows Anthony Albanese and Labor are on track for victory at next month’s election. Picture: Mark Stewart / NewsWire

“I haven’t spoken to Russell personally, but I can say this, that there’s no more passionate South Sydney person in the world than Russell Crowe,” he said.

“He’s got a cardinal eye and a myrtle eye, and he has been an enormous success and I’m looking forward to Wayne Bennett, we have the great man back coaching this year and I’m always positive.”

According to the latest Newspoll, published today in The Australian, Mr Albanese and Labor are on the cusp of a political victory – and even an unexpected majority.

Labor’s primary vote has lifted to 34 per cent, while the Coalition’s has slumped to 35 per cent, which is lower than Scott Morrison’s losing result at the last election.

On a two-party preferred basis, Labor leads the Coalition 52 per cent to 48 per cent, the poll showed.

Originally published as ‘He never did’: Hollywood megastar Russell Crowe’s verdict on Anthony Albanese