Russell Crowe

Russell Crowe is an Academy Award winning film actor. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Maximus in Ridley Scott's Gladiator (2000), John Nash in A Beautiful Mind and Richie Roberts in American Gangster.

Crowe was born in Wellington, New Zealand but moved to Australia when he was four. He began acting in theater and film from a young age. He also pursued music and operated as a musician using the stage name Russ Le Roq.

At the age of 21, Crowe considered applying to the National Institute of Dramatic Art but was advised against it by a friend who said that Crowe was already working steadily as an actor and thus didn't need the training.

After success in Australia, Crowe crossed the ocean to Hollywood, where he quickly rose to recognition in such films as Gladiator, The Insider, L.A. Confidential, and A Beautiful Mind. He won the best actor Academy Award for his role in Gladiator, and his most recent appearance has been alongside Denzel Washington in American Gangster.

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• April 7, 1964: Born

• 1995: The Quick and the Dead

• 1997: L.A. Confidential

• 1999: Mystery Alaska

• 1999: The Insider

• 2001: Gladiator

• 2001: A Beautiful Mind

• 2003: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

• 2005: Cinderella Man

• 2006: A Good Year

• 2007: American Gangster

• 2007: 3:10 to Yuma

• 2009: State of Play