The Real Reason You Don't Hear From Russell Crowe Anymore

In the early 2000s, Russell Crowe was indisputably one of the biggest names in Hollywood. He got his start on TV back home in his native Australia, first appearing as Kenny Larkin in a few episodes of the popular soap opera Neighbours. In 1990, he landed his first film roles in Prisoners of the Sun and The Crossing. But it wasn't until starring as Maximus Decimus Meridius in the film Gladiator that he really made his mark stateside. After his performance in Gladiator earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor, he went on to appear in other critically acclaimed films like A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man.

But recently, it seems like Crowe has dropped off the map, and he's simply not acting as much these days. Here's why you haven't seen him on the big screen, and why he probably won't get back to his former status as one of Hollywood's most popular actors.

Perhaps all of the negative media coverage that Crowe received after that fateful moment when he decided to throw a phone taught him an important message about the serious pitfalls of fame: nothing is totally private, and your mistakes will almost always follow you in one way or another. Although Crowe says that he has personally moved past the incident, he acknowledges that the rest of the industry (and the general public) never really did. In his own opinion, he thinks they made it into a bigger deal than it needed to be.

In an interview with Charlie Rose in 2010, Crowe was asked about the issue, and he said, "I think it indelibly changed me... Very definitely, it affected me, it's affected me psychologically." It seems like it's a stain on his past that he's never going to completely escape. Unfortunately, Crowe is one of those celebs who will always have his name attached to a scandal.

From day one, Crowe made a name for himself as an actor. For the first two decades of his career, he was solely focused on putting himself in front of the camera. But like many other exceptional actors who have worked in Hollywood for a long time, he eventually decided it was time to try his hand at something new. In 2014, Crowe made his feature-length directorial debut with the film The Water Diviner. The same year, he also directed the short film Remedy.

Crowe had already worked as a producer on the television series Damage Control back in 2010, but in 2015, he decided to return to that role by serving as an executive producer on Fathers & Daughters. Although it has been a few years since he worked behind the camera, he could choose to pursue this path further. It may even be a good change of pace for Crowe — after getting so much bad publicity, working on films without being in the public eye might take some of the pressure off.

In 2016, Crowe got into some sort of altercation with rapper Azealia Banks. It's worth noting that Crowe was never actually charged with anything, and the allegations never really got anywhere, but it certainly did not help his reputation. Banks filed a police report after attending a party at Crowe's suite at a hotel in Beverly Hills. She claimed that Crowe physically assaulted her while using racial slurs, and then kicked her out of his room.

However, witnesses who were also attending the party say otherwise. Other partygoers said that Banks was the one who was looking for trouble, and that her behavior was "erratic" all night. According to them, Crowe made Banks leave the party after she threatened him along with other party guests. Unless you were a fly on the wall, it's hard to know who was telling the truth, but Banks has also come under fire for her own outbursts, like getting into scuffles with bouncers and security guards. Either way, it didn't look good for Crowe in light of his previous track record.

As actors get older and move further along in their careers, they tend to get more selective, and Crowe is no exception to this rule. He has always said that he will not take on a role for the sake of money or publicity. In fact, he specifically told The Guardian that he could never "fake sincerity," and he seems to be sticking to that promise.

At this point in his career, Crowe can afford to work on projects that really speak to him. He doesn't need to go for every offer that comes his way — he can be quite picky if he wants to. If that means making only one or two movies each year, well, good for him. This is probably a major reason that he simply isn't acting as much these days. He has already spoken quite openly about the fact that he wants to spend more time with his family back home in Australia, and that probably means only taking on the roles that he truly wants.

According to the people Crowe has worked with, he leaves no stone unturned when he is preparing for a role. He wants to go over every detail before shooting begins — and he means every single little detail. Curtis Hanson, the director and screenwriter who worked with Crowe on L.A. Confidential, once told Variety that Crowe was "an actor of 1,000 questions," and says that he went over every line in the script with a fine-toothed comb. He did not leave one line unread or unexamined before shooting started. Hanson admits that it made Crowe tough to work with, but all of the questioning was worth it in the end.

While some directors, like Hanson, may appreciate this kind of approach to a role, there are plenty who would simply feel annoyed or even insulted. This could be one reason why some directors might be reluctant to work with Crowe — they know that he won't necessarily accept their vision for the film at face value.