He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing Maximus Decimus Meridius in the epic historical drama Gladiator (2000).

Russell Crowe is an Academy Award-winning actor born April 7, 1964, in Wellington, New Zealand. Standing 6 feet tall, he won the Oscar for Best Actor for Gladiator (2000) and earned additional nominations for The Insider (1999) and A Beautiful Mind (2001). His films have grossed over $5.3 billion worldwide, establishing him as one of cinema's most bankable stars with roles spanning from Master and Commander to Thor: Love and Thunder.

Crowe moved from New Zealand to Sydney at age four with his film set caterer parents before returning to Auckland at 14. He attended Sydney Boys High School and Auckland Grammar School, leaving education early to pursue performing. His first film role came in The Crossing (1990), though Blood Oath (1990) released first, after years performing as musician Russ Le Roq in the early 1980s and appearing in Australian TV series Neighbours.

Crowe married actress and singer Danielle Spencer on his 39th birthday in 2003 after meeting during The Crossing filming. They have two sons born in 2003 and 2006, separating in October 2012 and finalizing divorce in April 2018. He has been co-owner of the South Sydney Rabbitohs rugby league team since 2006 and performs with his band that he formed in the 1980s with friend Billy Dean.