Russell Crowe--The Biography by Martin Howden

Author:Martin Howden
Language: eng
Format: mobi, azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781782192572
Publisher: John Blake Publishing
Published: 2012-05-04T04:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

RUSSELL’S CAREER ADDS UP

‘Russell is very intense, very intense.’

– Ron Howard

When it was clear that Ron Howard’s next project would be A Beautiful Mind (2001) – a biopic of John Nash, the Nobel Prize-winning mathematical genius who suffered from schizophrenia – the director began thinking about who would play the complex lead role. ‘It was, on paper, a great screen performance, but kind of a scary character to take on. So I needed someone with real courage. John Nash is a very complex character and in interpreting that character you needed an actor with the ability, with the presence and charisma to command your interest over a period of time, and the talent to pull it off, also the nerve.

‘When I met with him [Russell] I wasn’t 100 per cent convinced going into the meeting, but I was very, very interested in discussing it with him. I found that his questions were important. The intelligence that he displayed in asking these questions was very exciting for me, because I knew he was charismatic, I knew he was talented. But I saw a level of intelligence that whoever played Nash had to be able to display. You can’t really act it, fake it. It’s not a matter of just saying the words. That spark has to be there, and I saw it there in spades.

‘Russell is very intense, very intense. But I don’t get the feeling it’s a show. It’s really about the vibe that he feels he needs to try to create something, or sometimes it’s about the vibe he thinks the entire set needs to sort of get in the right space to maximise the scene.’

Howard went on to say, ‘Russell is a very charismatic guy but a character actor at heart. He wants to discover a character, define it within his own terms, ingest it and then present it back to you in a way that’s insightful and entertaining. This is kind of his genius.’

The director was keen to work with Russell but sought advice from other filmmakers. ‘They said he really is an intense guy. But it’s all about the work. If you’re prepared and can debate his points, you won’t have problems. It’s not about being an egomaniac who wants things his way. He’s challenging the material constructively.’

While Howard was keen to get Russell on board, it would take him and his producing partner Brian Grazer six months to convince him.

Grazer recalled, ‘Sometimes you can deal with an actor’s questions by saying, “This is what we’re gonna do” and they jump on board. Russell is smart. He actually wanted to see the improvements – he didn’t want to just hear about them. We had to produce them, show him several different drafts. Russell was in Austin with his band. Ron flew down there and Russell grilled him till five in the morning.’

Explaining what it was like with the actor, Howard said, ‘Working with Russell is like filming on a small island. The weather’s going to change every day, but it’s where you want to be.

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