Russell Crowe reveals guilt that overshadowed his Gladiator Oscar win
Many would agree Russell Crowe deserved the Best Actor Oscar for Gladiator in 2001. Everyone it seems except Russell Crowe himself.
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It was undoubtedly the most defining role in his career.
And while 2001 film Gladiator won Russell Crowe the Academy Award for Best Actor, as well as paving the way for his glistening Hollywood career, the Australian actor doesn’t think he deserved the level of praise he received.
In an interview with Richard Wilkins on the Today show, Crowe, 56, revealed he felt guilty about the reception he received for the movie, which streams on Binge.
“I went to Rome and sat and watched the film and it was a humbling experience, man, because I’m watching it and so much changed in my life,” Crowe said.
“I got so many pats on the back, and, you know, I got some big awards and all that, and obviously that sort of stepped me up to a different level for quite some time.
“But I watched that movie, and it is a director’s film. It was one of those moments of, ‘Why did I get all the attention when the Academy Award belongs to (director) Ridley Scott?’”
Renowned director Scott did not receive the gong for Best Director (though he was nominated), but Gladiator did take home Best Picture, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design.
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It comes after Crowe shared a hilarious story about how former NRL star Sam Burgess upset Kanye West at a restaurant in London.
Speaking to Nova’s Fitzy and Wippa to promote his new movie Unhinged, which hits cinemas on July 30, Crowe said he had met Kanye on several occasions over the years, starting with a get-together in Sydney.
“He wanted to meet me because he was doing a record with Jay-Z and they wanted to use some stuff from Gladiator … on one of their records,” Crowe explained.
The actor then detailed “one of the funniest nights I’ve ever had with Kanye” which took place at a Chinese restaurant beneath The Dorchester Hotel in London. Crowe was in the restaurant with Burgess when Kanye approached the pair.
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“Kanye comes down because he’d heard I was there and he’s like, ‘Can I come and hang?’” Crowe recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah man.’
“So he came down and we had a couple of dumplings or whatever. He brought his computer with him. He was just scrolling through a bunch of stuff he had been working on.”
One of Kanye’s work projects was a song he’d recently recorded with Sir Paul McCartney and Rihanna called Four Five Seconds.
“He plays that (song),” Crowe said. “It hadn’t come out yet.
“At one point, Sam (Burgess) is singing along, but he doesn’t really know the words … And I could see a little twitch in Kanye’s eye. I said, ‘Sam you’re singing the wrong words, you’re singing the wrong day.’”
When Crowe told Burgess he was singing the wrong lyrics, Burgess replied: “It doesn’t matter what day it is. Kanye, does it matter what day it is?”
As Crowe recalled: “Kanye just looked at him across the table and said, ‘Yeah, it matters what day it is.’”
Originally published as Russell Crowe reveals guilt that overshadowed his Gladiator Oscar win