The only actor who made Russell Crowe break character: “That little motherfucker”
From the moment he delivered his epic monologue in Gladiator, everybody knew that Russell Crowe was going to be a star for life.
He’d been famous before, through the likes of LA Confidential and The Insider, but this was the moment he reached that upper echelon. He won an Oscar for ‘Best Actor’ and, crucially, became part of the pop culture tapestry. The “I will have my vengeance” speech is one of the most famous and most-parodied in all of cinema, and it all started with him.
Crowe’s star status has afforded him the chance to work with some of the greatest actors on the planet. His next big post-Gladiator project, Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind, cast him alongside Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris, Paul Bettany, and more. He played the father of Henry Cavill’s Superman in Man of Steel, the Greek god Zeus in the Marvel Cinematic Universe opposite Chris Hemsworth, and Inspector Javert as part of an all-star cast in Tom Hooper’s Les Misérables. Although some people would like to forget that ever happened…
One of his most memorable on-screen pairings can be found in the 2016 neo-noir hit The Nice Guys. Crowe plays Jackson Healy, a bruising tough guy-for-hire working in 1970s Hollywood. When one of his clients becomes a suspect in the murder of a porn star, Healy is told to put the screws on the private detective investigating the case. His name is Holland March and he’s played by Ryan Gosling.
Though not a financial hit, The Nice Guys has found a very strong cult audience in the years since its release. There has even been a rumour of a sequel, although Gosling himself has shut these down. Crowe was asked about the movie during an interview with GQ. He has fond memories of his time on set, even if his co-star did continuously get under his skin.
“I loved making that movie,” he revealed. “Ryan Gosling, Jesus Christ. Trying to work with that kid. I’m famous for not breaking character no matter what – Ridley [Scott] used to laugh about it. The Colosseum could be collapsing behind me and I’d still be doing my stuff. There’s a thing in acting called corpsing – laughing inappropriately. That little motherfucker gets me every time.”
Despite the myriad difficult situations Crowe has found himself in across his career – fighting wild animals in ancient Rome, captaining a ship on the ‘Far Side of the World’, even building an ark for Darren Aronofsky – this seemingly simple gig was the one that broke him. It’s not hard to see why. Gosling is a very funny guy. His performance as Ken in Barbie stole the show, making him the first person to be nominated for an Oscar for playing a fashion doll. When the script is as funny as the one for The Nice Guys, it’s hard to imagine not laughing when you’re around someone like him. It’s not like Gosling isn’t guilty of corpsing either, as anyone who saw him on Saturday Night Live can attest to.
He might have called him out in an interview years later, but it’s clear that Crowe has very fond memories of working alongside Gosling. Shockingly, the two haven’t collaborated on a movie since. That needs to be rectified as soon as possible.
