Russell Crowe names the most satisfying experience of his career
Speculating about what Russell Crowe considers the most satisfying moment of his career is a fascinating exercise for any fan of New Zealand’s most famous A-lister. Was it his breakout performance in Romper Stomper? Winning the ‘Best Actor’ Oscar for Gladiator? Perhaps it was earning nominations for The Insider and A Beautiful Mind, the two films bookending that Roman epic.
In April 2015, Crowe spoke at the press day for his new film. It was a picture that spoke to his roots and required the most he’d given to any movie in a long time. He admitted it wasn’t like he’d been taking it easy in the leadup to it, either. The star confessed: “I was in the middle of an extremely busy year. It was the busiest of my professional life. In a 16-month period, I did five feature films, one after the other.”
The exhausted actor could have been forgiven for wanting a break after making so many movies in such a short period, especially because his personal life was also in turmoil. He separated from his ex-wife, Danielle Spencer, in October 2012, which took a toll on his children. Despite this personal and professional whirlwind, Crowe decided to make his directorial debut with The Water Diviner, and he claimed, “I didn’t really choose this piece. It crept up and chose me.”
The film told the story of an Australian farmer whose three sons fought for the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps at the Battle of Gallipoli in 1915-16. After the war ended in 1919, the farmer resolved to travel to Turkey to retrieve the bodies of his children, who were all presumed dead, to bring them home to be buried with their mother.
Crowe explained that the script resonated very deeply with him on several levels, and even though he was busy, he couldn’t turn it down. He said: “There’s a cultural connection in that the Battle of Gallipoli and Australia and New Zealand’s involvement in the First World War is a definitive cultural touchstone where I come from. It was the first time the Australians and New Zealanders fought under their own flag. Prior to that, they were seen as extensions of the British Empire.”
In addition, reading about a man with three sons who go off to war and don’t return affected Crowe as a devoted father of two boys.
Amazingly, Crowe wasn’t even worried about stepping behind the camera for the first time. He revealed that he’d been working since he was six, and 25 years of film lead roles had given him all the preparation he’d ever need to direct. He smiled: “I know the nature of film. I speak the language. I am of the gypsy tribe.”
Crowe wound up taking to directing like a duck to water and arguably loved it more than acting. He gushed: “I love the composition of shots, colours, textures, camera movement, the music, the choice to be silent at some points, and all the myriad of things that you’re responsible for.”
This isn’t to say he didn’t experience trepidation, though. He confessed, “It’s wonderful on so many levels, but it’s also really scary. I’m responsible for all of it, and I’ve got nowhere to hide.”
Ultimately, though, as he told Hey U Guys, Crowe found directing “the most deeply satisfying artistic experience I’ve ever had.” The fact that the film rested solely on his shoulders made it feel much more personal than a normal acting job, and in turn, this made him take it more to heart. He mused, “It’s far more important to me, in a strange way, because it comes from me. It’s born of me. I’m not just a part of a story in somebody else’s vision.”
In the end, Crowe was so bowled over by how much he loved directing that he claimed it fundamentally changed his attitude to his work. He revealed: “I used to think I had the greatest job in the world, and then I did this, and I realised how much more this suits me.”
In the years since, Crowe has directed one more film – 2022’s Poker Face – but it wouldn’t be remotely surprising to see him embrace directing even more in the future.
