Feds Week: Russell Crowes memorable acting credits

[00:00:00] This podcast is a production of Unfiltered Studios. If you would like to know more about joining Unfiltered Studios, please visit our website at unfpod.com for more information. Have you seen the South Park episode? Yes, I've seen it. A hot-headed actor named Russell Crowe. He loves to act, but he loves one thing more. Fight round the world. You know these guys? Yes, I do. You knew they were doing this? Yes, I did. Did you cooperate with it? They didn't ask me to cooperate with it.

[00:00:30] And what do you think? I think that they are very, very funny men and I wish them Godspeed and I hope they continue to do what they're doing. So you found a certain amount of humor in it? Man, you know, for me a lot of it's, you know, if there was something for me to learn from it, is the analogous thing, you know. Because I did think the whole thing was a fight. I did think my whole career was a struggle, you know.

[00:01:01] Man, I was born in Seatune in New Zealand, in Wellington, you know. And we're talking in the Pierre Hotel in New York. It's a long way.

[00:02:01] New Zealand, Australian, Okta. That's right, he's a hybrid. That is Russell Crowe. Won multiple awards, including BAFTAs and Oscars and keeps resonating with people.

[00:02:30] You know him as Maximus Desperidius in Gladiator. You know him also as Bud White in LA Confidential. You know him as Sheriff John in Mystery Alaska, which is a fun, moody comedy. Geoffrey Wiglin in The Insider, which is basically a whistleblower drama based on a true story. Captain Albrey in Master and Commander. A true life genius drama.

[00:02:58] A Beautiful Mind, where he played real-life philosophical John Nash. And then since then he's pretty much just been in plenty of blockbusters. Some mostly working with Ridley or Tony Scott. So I recently played Jor-El in Man of Steel. All together he's just, he's a powerhouse. Anytime I see him, I just know it's going to be over the top. That clip you heard prior to that was him reacting to his South Park parody. So he just only has a sense of humor.

[00:03:24] He's tried to make his way into doing music and I can't say it's particularly great, but hey. Who am I to judge? Let a guy do what he wants to do. So he's got plenty of underrated stuff. I've never not regret, I've never really even regretted checking out any of his material. Even when it hasn't been a hundred percent. So he's a typical kind of actor. It's so wild, hard to believe that he almost ended up being part of the Lord of the Rings cast. I forgot which role. I don't know if he would have played Aragorn or what, but yeah.

[00:03:52] He's done a bunch of easygoing dramas and comedy stuff. Prisoners of the Sun is his first theatrical movie. He just plays a prisoner of war in World War II. It's pretty bearable. He does the romantic love triangle film proof with Hugo Weaving. That's right. Agent Smith and then Efficiency Expert. It's a fun Australian film that he did with the unknown Ben Mendelsohn, Tony Collette, and as well as his first collaboration with Anthony Hopkins.

[00:04:20] It's a worthwhile watchable movie. And then follows it up with one of those Black Stallion type movies and plenty of other crowd pleasers. And then pretty much 95, here we are with another actor. Very just their career takes off by 95 with just four back-to-back movies. Just The Quick and the Dead, just the like-it-or-hate-it Western by Sam Raimi, No Way Back, which is a simple East and West thriller.

[00:04:47] Virtuosity where he gets to play opposite Denzel Washington as the killer hologram. And then Rough Magic, which is a Bridget Fonda magician thriller. I definitely recommend Heaven's Burning. It's another fun where he just plays a getaway driver with a runaway bride. It's just another fun just movie. And then gets to play again opposite Salma Hayek in Breaking Up, which is actually way better than the trailer made it out to be. I remember seeing that growing up. I was like, what the hell is that?

[00:05:16] It looks just so stupid, but it just shows you how people can't always just, you know, they get married quick and they got to put up with each other's bullshit. And it was just a very mature, well done movie. I can't 100% recommend Free Tinda Yuma. I mainly recommend the original, the OG, but he was, he stole every scene in that one as the outlaw turned antihero. A lot of people complained about his character, Detective Roberts, the actual, you know, true life, true crime story of American gangster.

[00:05:46] Just not being as interesting as Denzel's Frank Lucas. I thought he held his own. He really was cool to see him in another LA confidential kind of role, but be more low key. And it's then the like it or hated spy film, Body of Lies, but his performance is definitely worth a watch there. Once again, plays another cop in tenderness, which is just another multi-character drama and in need of a better organization.

[00:06:11] Next three days remake was okay. It's not great, but okay. Personally, I prefer state of play, which was remake of that UK show. And it did pretty good at just showing just journalists taking down scandal, this politicians and just had an all star cast. And it was very well incorporated, very well put together.

[00:06:39] It's also in the water diviner, which got some controversy for its bias on just little scene parts of the world. Again, Australian farmers during World War one, but he did well as a director handling low key scenes. I won't bother talking about a winter's tale or Noah because those movies were garbage. He also should not sing because he was in La Mez. And definitely one of the problems with that musical.

[00:07:09] He's one of the best parts about Man with the Iron Fist. Once again, Tarantino inspired film. That's just a lot of fun. And he's making fun of the whole East meets West formula. Let's go down to just a bunch of other things. He is one of the best parts about the Nice Guys, Like It or Hate a Buddy film. He's in the average family drama, Fathers and Daughters. And I mainly recommend a recent stuff, Boy Erased, where he plays the bigoted religious father.

[00:07:40] He's a Baptist and he's just basically forcing his son to take part in a conversion therapy program. And he's just this excellent. He's just like, wow, that's Russell Crowe getting weighed. He just plays well opposite of his actor turned director, Joel Edgerton. And I think what's just really works with just all these kinds of dramas is we all know about this real life colorful persona, just hitting people with phones and other just bullshit. And it's just one of those quite the character.

[00:08:08] And yet just as an actor, just what makes a difference from say Marlon Brando is just kind of forget about just his silly, you're just not ready to talk to the paparazzi moments and you concentrate on just the actor himself. And it's just like, man, he's, he took off. He's just excellent. Now recent fare, he was in that 2019 Western, The True History of the Kelly Gang. And don't bother with it. It is an unapproachable, incomprehensible movie.

[00:08:37] And it didn't help that it had Charlie Hannum from Sons of Anarchy and Nicholas Holt. Why do people keep putting these pricks in movies? And then he was also in Unhinged, which is a fun psycho thriller. It's just all together, just very well put together. And in that one, he got to play just a kind of just a psycho who just basically anything sets him off and he just chooses his targets very carefully.

[00:09:04] And it's definitely worth the watch, especially if you like movies like Falling Down or Law Abiding Citizens. So there you go. He's dynamite in this role. I love the tagline. He can happen to anyone. It was pretty good. I saw it on Amazon Prime and I just, I did not regret a minute of it. So, anything he's got upcoming. I mean, he could do the worst movie in the world. I mean, he did play Van Helsing in that incomprehensible Mummy remake, but I mean, everyone forgot about it.

[00:09:33] So, he's just, he's bulletproof. I've never seen him just fail to just stand out in a role. I think what he just has down to a T is just, I mean, even if you look at his side of the Actress Studio episode, which despite being heavily censored with his cursing, he just pretty much summed up how instead of just doing even just research for your role, he's just like, just keep it simple. What does the character want? And I think that's great. So, he's much like any screenwriter.

[00:10:02] Illustrate and become the role. Do it on you, Russell. You are a hardy boy. You are a crazy, crazy dude, but you are a good actor.

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