Real Name: Russell Ira Crowe

Nationality: New Zealand-Australian

Height: 5' 11½"

Hair: Light Brown

Eyes: Hazel

Born: April 7, 1964 in Wellington, North Island, New Zealand.

Discovered: Russell, the son of movie set caterers, started acting as a child on a local Australian TV show.

Russell's first big break came with two films, Romper Stomper (1992) and The Sum of Us (1994). Sharon Stone heard of him from Romper Stomper and wanted him for her film, The Quick and the Dead (1995), and even held up shooting until she had her man.

The Quick and the Dead was Russell's first American film, and the second, Virtuosity (1995), starring Denzel Washington, put Russell in the body of a Virtual Serial Killer. L.A. Confidential (1997), Russell's third American film, made him a Hollywood star, but it was 2000's Gladiator that mede him a household name and Oscar winner. He repeated his success with 2001's A Beautiful Mind.

Income: Cinderella Man (2005) 15,000,000

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) $20,000,000

A Beautiful Mind (2001) $15,000,000

Proof of Life (2000) $7,500,000

Gladiator (2000) $5,000,000

Resume: A Good Year (2006) Cinderella Man (2005)

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

A Beautiful Mind (2001)

Proof of Life (2000)

Gladiator (2000)

The Insider (1999)

Mystery, Alaska (1999)

Breaking Up (1997)

Heaven's Burning (1997)

L.A. Confidential (1997)

Rough Magic (1995)

Virtuosity (1995)

No Way Back (1995)

The Quick and the Dead (1995)

The Sum of Us (1994)

The Silver Brumby (1993) Love in Limbo (1993)

For the Moment (1993)

Hammers Over the Anvil (1993)

Romper Stomper (1992) Spotswood (1992)

"Brides of Christ" (1991)

Proof (1991)

The Crossing (1990) Prisoners of the Sun (1990)

"Living with the Law" (1988) TV Series

Romance: Married to his The Crossing co-star, Danielle Spencer since April 2003. The pair have one child.

Dated Meg Ryan in 2001.

Quotes: "One of the most painful things of the LA Confidential character I played was that the author, James Ellroy, kept telling me that Bud White wasn't a drinker. I said, 'come on, this is 1953. He's a blue-collar bloke, a cop. You're telling me he doesn't sit around with the boys after his shift and have a beer?' And Ellroy says, 'absolutely not.' So for five months and seven days I didn't have a drink. It's probably the most painful period of my life." - Russell Crowe

"If you grow up in the suburbs of anywhere, a dream like this seems kind of vaguely ludicrous and completely unattainable. But this moment is directly connected to those imaginings. And for anybody who's on the downside of advantage, and relying purely on courage, it's possible." - Russell Crowe on winning his Oscar

"It's not really what I'd call a movie. I was stunned that Miramax wanted to buy it. I mean it's really rude. It showed me in a really bad light. It's also shoddily made. It's cobbled together." - Russell Crowe expressing surprise that a low-budget documentary of his band, 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, has been picked up for worldwide distribution.

"I'd move to Los Angeles if Australia and New Zealand were swallowed up by a huge tidal wave, if there was a bubonic plague in Europe, and if the continent of Africa disappeared from some Martian attack." - Russell Crowe

"I felt this tap on my shoulder and I turned around and, you know that De Niro fellow? Well, he didn't say a word. He didn't say 'Hello', 'Good evening' or anything or 'Hi, I'm Robert'. He just looked at me and he nodded his head and he smiled. And he walked off." - Russell Crowe about meeting Robert De Niro.

"You don't have to like an actor to do a scene with him. You don't have to like a director. But it's just better if you do. And I think, you know, you've got to begin that with respect." - Russell Crowe