Russell Crowe

Born: 7 April 1964 Birthplace: New Zealand Best Known As: The star of Gladiator Crowe began acting in his adopted home country of Australia, winning acclaim in films like The Crossing (1990) and Romper Stomper (1992). In the mid-1990s he became more prominent in America in films like Sharon Stone's The Quick and the Dead (1995, also starring Leonardo DiCaprio). He broke out as a cop in the retro crime thriller L.A. Confidential (1997, with Kim Basinger) and won an Oscar nomination for his work as tobacco whistleblower Jeffrey Wigand in 1999's The Insider. The next year he made a huge splash playing the Roman hero Maximus in Gladiator (directed by Ridley Scott). The film won the Academy Award for best picture of 2000, and Crowe himself was given the Oscar as best actor. His other films include Proof of Life (2000, with Meg Ryan), A Beautiful Mind (2001, with Jennifer Connelly), Master and Commander (2003) and Cinderella Man (2005, with Renee Zellweger). Until he disbanded it in 2004, Crowe had his own rock band, Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts (also known as TOFOG)... He had a much-publicized affair with Meg Ryan while both were filming the 2000 movie Proof of Life.