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60-year-old New Zealand-born actor and director Russell Crowe spent much of his childhood in Australia, where he would land his very first role at the age of 6! At the age of 16 he left school to pursue acting full-time and began his career as a musician before landing early roles on Australian soap opera 'Neighbour's and romantic drama 'The Crossing'!
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Russell Crowe's first big lead would come in 1997 in crime film 'L.A. Confidential'. The film would become the first in a line of successful films for Russell and was nominated for a Best Picture!
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Russell would then go on to be nominated for the Best Actor Oscar Award three years in a row! The first Oscar nomination would come from his role in 1999's Michael Mann drama 'The Insider'!
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Russell Crowe's second Oscar nomination would come in the form of 2000's 'Gladiator'. 'Gladiator' would become Russell's big breakthrough hit internationally, and he would win an Academy Award, a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award, an Empire Award, and a London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor!
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Russell Crowe would be nominated for the third year in a row for Best Actor and, while losing the Academy Award to Denzel Washington, Crowe would finally win an Oscar with 'A Beautiful Mind'! 'A Beautiful Mind' tells the story of real life mathematician John Nash, and the film would also win a Best Picture Award!
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After the success of 'A Beautiful Mind', director Ron Howard and Russell Crowe teamed up once again for 2005s biographical film 'Cinderella Man', based on the true story of 1920s ex-boxer James J. Braddock. Starring alongside actress Renée Zellweger, the film was a box-office hit for Russell and Howard!
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Finding his niche in biographical dramas, Russell Crowe would star in 2007s 'American Gangster', the fictionalized story of real life gangster Frank Lucas. Also starring Denzel Washington, the film was seen as a success and has become one of Russell's best known works!
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After a few years of box-office decline, Russell Crowe would star in 2010s 'Robin Hood' as archer "Robin Longstride" alongside Cate Blanchett. While medieval films often fair poorly in the box-office, 'Robin Hood' is credited with being one of the highest grossing medieval films!
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One of our favorite Russell Crowe films is 2012s musical film 'Les Misérables'! Crowe plays "Inspector Javert" in this 1862 French Revolution based film, and if you haven't seen it, it's a must see for the music alone!
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While 'Superman' films can be over-done, 2013s 'Man of Steel' is one worth seeing! Russell Crowe plays "Superman's" father "Jor-El" in the film, and it is the highest-grossing solo 'Superman' film ever released!
Actor and director Russell Crowe may hail from the Land Down under but he has had quite the impact on Hollywood throughout the years! From hit films including Gladiator and Noah, in honor of the actor's April birthday we are taking a look back at his career highlights!
Enjoy!