Russell Crowe almost missed out on breakout role because actor was not ‘bankable’ enough

Russell Crowe was almost snubbed for his breakout film role after execs delivered some harsh criticism.

The director of Russell Crowe’s breakout movie role has revealed how the actor was almost overlooked for the part.

The 1992 cult classic Romper Stomper was arguably the movie that put Crowe on the map, but director and writer Geoffrey Wright said he had to fight to cast the New Zealand-born actor as lead character Hando because producers thought he was not “bankable”.

Producers had another star in mind to play Hando: Aussie actor Ben Mendelsohn.

“There was pressure on us to cast Ben Mendelsohn as Hando,” Wright said in James Phelps new book Australia’s Most Infamous Jail, Inside the Walls of Pentridge Prison, as reported by the Herald Sun.

Pentridge Prison is where Andrew Kirby, the man who inspired Crowe’s character, served his sentence.

Russell Crowe stars in Romper Stomper. Picture: Roadshow Films

Crowe was not seen as “bankable” enough at the time. Picture: Roberto Serra – Iguana Press/Getty Images

According to Wright, producers saw Mendelsohn as “a recognised star”, whereas was Crowe was “relatively unknown outside of New Zealand”.

But Wright fought for Crowe as he believed the actor would bring an “energy” that would “turn Romper Stomper’s antagonist, Hando, into a charismatic monster, a really unforgettable villain. But I had a tough time convincing the investors of that.”

Wright eventually got his way and Crowe stepped into the role of Hando, the leader of a racist youth gang who spent nights attacking Asian immigrants on the streets of Melbourne.

Ben Mendelsohn was the first choice to play Hando in Romper Stomper. Picture: Kurt Krieger/Corbis via Getty Images

Crowe went on to star in Gladiator in 2000 and win an Oscar. Picture: Universal/Getty Images

“As good as Ben would have been, Russell took Romper Stomper to a whole other level with a transcendent performance,” Wright said in the book.

“There’s no other actor in the world who could have done it better.”

Crowe went on to win countless awards for his role, including an AFI Award for Best Actor in a Lead Role and a Film Critics Circle of Australia gong for Best Actor.

Romper Stomper opened at number one in cinemas nationwide and went on to gross $3.2 million at the Australian box office.

It was the second highest-grossing Aussie film in 1992 after the fan favourite Strictly Ballroom, Baz Luhrmann’s directorial debut which starred Paul Mercurio.