The one movie Russell Crowe regrets making: “That was just a momentary lapse”
In his heyday of the 1990s and early 2000s, famous actors were lining up to work with Russell Crowe. One of his earliest major American roles was in The Quick and the Dead, a western that also features Sharon Stone, Gene Hackman, and a young Leonardo DiCaprio. Then came LA Confidential alongside Guy Pearce, A Beautiful Mind with Jennifer Connolly and Christopher Plummer, and the blockbusting monolith Gladiator. That cast list speaks for itself.
In 2007, the New Zealand-born Aussie favourite formed a goldust partnership with Denzel Washington on the set of Ridley Scott’s American Gangster. Washington plays Frank Lucas, a drug dealer who used American military planes to smuggle heroin into the country. Crowe appears as Richie Roberts, the detective hot on Lucas’ case. At this point in time, Washington and Crowe were a powerhouse combination, but this wasn’t the first time they’d worked together.
During an interview with the African American Literature Book Club to promote American Gangster, the two stars recalled collaborating on the 1995 sci-fi action movie Virtuosity. This time, Washington plays the cop, although his character is serving jail time for murdering the man who killed his family. Crowe’s character, however, is very different to Detective Roberts; he plays a SID 6.7, an AI built from the personalities of over 100 famous serial killers. When SID enters the real world, it’s up to Washington’s character to stop him before it’s too late.
Sounds like a fairly decent premise for a movie, right? Well, not according to Crowe. “Virtuosity, yes, a wonderful movie,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “That was just a momentary lapse, wasn’t it? We were both young then, young and innocent.” Lending his support to his co-star, Washington chimed in with, “Not after that movie. We were old and tired.” If you need any further proof that both men regret appearing in this film, then you’re not going to find it.
Crowe had yet to really break through in America, so Virtuosity was something of a CV-builder for him. His face doesn’t even appear on the poster, which is dominated by an elaborate piece of sci-fi equipment and Washington’s enormous face. His co-star, however, was already in full flow. He’d been famous for a number of years, having redefined his legacy with Malcolm X just three years before this film came out. The movie flopped at the box office and failed to impress fans and critics alike. Roger Ebert liked it, though, which is something.
Luckily, American Gangster proved to be a much better investment for both men. It more than doubled its budget at the box office, becoming one of the highest-grossing gangster films of all time, and was among the better-reviewed major offerings of the year. Washington picked up a Golden Globe nomination for his efforts, while Ruby Dee, who played his character’s mother, was nominated for ‘Best Supporting Actress’. There were no such honours for Crowe, but he was included on the poster this time. Now that’s progress.
The trajectory both men took between Virtuosity and American Gangster symbolizes not only how talented they are but also how brutal the movie industry can be. Sometimes, even the greatest pick a lame duck, but the good ones can turn things around within only a handful of years.
