Bizarre reason behind Russell Crowe’s citizenship secret

Russell Crowe considers himself a dinky-di Aussie but the Hollywood actor was born in NZ. So which nation can truly lay claim to The Gladiator star?

Russell Crowe has spent his whole life here and considers himself a dinky-di Aussie, yet the Hollywood superstar says he is yet to score citizenship due to bureaucratic paperwork.

Seeking to put an end to New Zealand’s claim Australia stole the actor as one of our own, Confidential went straight to the man himself.

Crowe was born in Wellington in 1964 with his family moving to Australia when he was four.

Actor Russell Crowe announces the building of a movie studio on the Pacific Bay Resort site in Coffs Harbour. Pic Nathan Edwards

“When my family did go back to New Zealand, I already considered myself to be an Australian,” Crowe said.

“My family moved back there but when I was a young adult, I moved back to the city of Sydney, which is the city I grew up in, the city I knew how to use all of the public transport and I knew where all the spots for adventure were and that is where I felt at home.”

Crowe, 57, now splits his time between Sydney — where his two sons live — and his rural property in Nana Glen, near Coffs Harbour, where he announced this week plans for a major movie production studio on the grounds of Pacific Bay Resort.

“I still haven’t got around to putting my form in to apply to be a citizen,” he said.

Actor Russell Crowe as a younger man at Coramba near Coffs Harbour.

Russell Crowe with his sons at Allianz Stadium. Picture. Phil Hillyard

“I was told because I wasn’t here in the years 2000, 2001, 2002, for more than 10 months of the year or something, that takes me out of an automatic citizenship thing and now I have to write a letter saying what I might contribute in the future.

“Between my day job and the other jobs that I’ve done, things like South Sydney (Rabbitohs) and stuff like that, I think it is pretty clear where my heart lies. Maybe just save all the time and send me a letter.”

So there you have it, while Crowe is technically a New Zealander on paper, we will continue to claim his as an Aussie.