[h1]Character Sheet[/h1]

[b]Name:[/b][indent][indent]Russell Crowe[/indent][/indent]

[b]Age:[/b][indent][indent]32 or 33 – Born 7th April, 1964 in Wellington, New Zealand[/indent][/indent]

[b]Occupation/Affiliation:[/b][indent][indent]Actor.  Part-time waiter to supplement income.  Affiliated with Screen Actors Guild.  Musician, affiliated with 30 Odd Foot of Grunts.[/indent][/indent]

[b]Physical Description:[/b][indent][indent]Brown hair, blue/green eyes, 5’11” and a half.[/indent][/indent]

[b]History:[/b]
Despite being born in New Zealand, Russell Crowe began his career in Australia.  After appearing in small tv roles, his film career began when he was cast in “The Crossing” (1990), a romantic drama shot in the small towns of Junee and Condoblin.  He followed this role up with a part in “Blood Oath” (also known as “Prisoners of the Sun”) which was about the trial of Japanese soldiers charged with war crimes against allied prisoners in the World War II.  But it was the critically acclaimed “Proof”, shot a year later in 1991, that he first jumped onto the radar of those in the Australian Film Industry where he won Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a movie which won numerous awards.

His best known Australian Film role came a year later, though.  When he played the terrifying Hando, a violent neo-Nazi gang leader in suburban Melbourne, in the drama “Romper Stomper”.  He later went on to win Best Actor in a Lead Role for this performance.  It also caught the eye of industry insiders both in Australasia and abroad.  So much so, that Sharon Stone held up production on the 1995 Western “The Quick and the Dead” demanding he be cast, the Sam Raimi directed film was his first introduction to American audiences.  Whilst in the United States for this role, Crowe also accepted a part as the ultimate serial killer in the Denzel Washington action film Virtuosity.

Neither film was particularly well received critically, but Russell now had his foot in the door overseas.

So much so that he would return to Los Angeles again.  He’d put together some money for flights and enough to find himself a place to stay for a few months.  He had an audition with Curtis Hanson for a new film he was developing, apparently he’d recently secured the rights to some book by some L.A. crime fiction writer…