Ranking Russell Crowe’s 10 greatest performances of all time
There are few actors from New Zealand who have contributed to the medium of cinema quite like Russell Crowe. Across three stellar decades as a movie star, Crowe has embodied the brilliance of many of his predecessors, giving a wide range of physically and emotionally intense performances through collaborations with the likes of Ridley Scott, Taika Waititi and Ron Howard.
In his breakout role in 1992’s Australian drama Romper Stomper, it became clear that the world had a new serious talent on its hands, and by the time Crowe had given his eternally memorable efforts in L.A. Confidential and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, Crowe’s credentials as one of cinema’s most prominent skills had forever been assured.
It was the latter film that saw Crowe rightfully earn the Academy Award for his portrayal of the betrayed Roman general Maximus Decimus Meridius, which would serve as perhaps Crowe’s most iconic turn. Decades later, the film is receiving an unlikely sequel, with Crowe, whose character died at the end of Scott’s epic unremarkably not due to return while Paul Mescal takes the lead role in his place.
As the legendary actor enters his seventh decade on Earth, we’ve looked across all the magnificent performances he’s given over the years, found the very best and sorted them into ascending order of quality. So buckle up for some of the most commanding and physical efforts even given on screen.
Russell Crowe’s 10 best performances:
10. The Nice Guys (Shane Black, 2016)
Crowe has always possessed a ruggedness in his acting roles that’s often married with his unrivalled charisma and charm, and this became most evident in his performance in the 2016 action-comedy The Nice Guys. It’s great to see Crowe in this comic role, where the film tells of private eye Holland March, played by Ryan Gosling, and an enforcer coming together to look into the disappearance of a young woman.
With one-liners of the highest order and a physical comedy recalling the old greats, Crowe gives a starkly different role to the kind we’re used to seeing him in. The back-and-forth between Crowe and Gosling as their dive into the corruption and criminal underworld of 1970s Los Angeles showed us the wide range that Crowe has, from action-heavy cinema to laugh-out-loud comedy.
9. 3:10 to Yuma (James Mangold, 2007)
In James Mangold’s remake of the 1957 western film 3:10 to Yuma, Crowe gave a complex performance as the outlaw Ben Wade, a complicated man with his own set of morals. There’s a real danger to Wade as per his violent actions, but Crowe managed to imbue his character with just a few glimmers of empathy and emotion to make his effort one of his best.
Beyond Wade’s tough exterior lies a vulnerability and a man haunted by his inner demons and contradicting ethical beliefs. The chemistry between Crowe and Christian Bale, who plays the rancher desperately trying to bring Wade to justice, is palpable, and Crowe’s overall performance showcases the New Zealand actor’s ability to navigate moral ambiguity.
8. Romper Stomper (Geoffrey Wright, 1992)
Crowe might be better known for his high-profile performances in the new millennium, but a lot can be said for his work in Geoffrey Wright’s 1992 film Romper Stomper, one of the actor’s first major starring roles. A profound thriller shrouded as a violent flick, the film tells the story of a group of skinheads who feel forced to take action as they see the face of their community being changed by an influx of Vietnamese immigrants.
Early performances from established Hollywood icons can go either way, but this one from Crowe is raw and untamed, perfectly fitting his young character suffering from a morally fraught identity crisis. It might not be one of the Kiwi’s most famous roles, but it is certainly one of his very best.
7. Cinderella Man (Ron Howard, 2005)
Physical performance has been the bread and butter of much of Crowe’s stellar career, and in 2005’s biographical drama Cinderella Man by director Ron Howard, the actor took his talents to the ring with a portrayal of James J. Braddock, a Depression-era boxer who makes a striking comeback. Braddock is a man driven to his goals by love, and with Crowe playing him, the film twists and turns between hard-hitting fight scenes and emotional tenderness.
The film saw Crowe team up with Howard again following A Beautiful Mind, and it’s easy to see why the director had been so keen to employ the actor once again, given his remarkable performance. Crowe’s physicality is truly striking, and he shows the journey Braddock made from a down-and-outer to a boxing champion, always commanding the audience’s attention with spirit and power.
6. L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson, 1997)
For some reason or another, Curtis Hanson’s terrific 1997 film L.A. Confidential is too often forgotten about in contemporary cinema despite being one of the finest examples of neo-noir filmmaking ever made. In the star-studded film, Crowe plays Wendell White, a violent cop investigating a murder in the sleazy backdrop of 1950s Los Angeles, while his fellow officers Jack (Kevin Spacey) and Edmund (Guy Pearce) choose other means.
Showing his versatility for dramatic roles, Crowe bares his teeth to play White, a highly unlikeable character that the actor somehow still manages to make an endearing on-screen character, being a pivotal and highly enjoyable character to watch until the film’s fantastic closing sequence.
5. American Gangster (Ridley Scott, 2007)
Crowe’s character in American Gangster by Ridley Scott is easily one of the best parts of the movie; Detective Richie Roberts is a man who seems to play by the rules, even though many of his fellow policemen are caught up in the force’s corruption of the late 1960s and early 1970s in New York City. However, his decision to hand in $1 million that he found in a gangster’s car is soon juxtaposed with his infidelity, revealing a man of equal praise and flaw.
Still, Crowe manages to portray his character as one who constantly seeks redemption and integrity, even at his lowest moments. The moments in which Roberts tracks down drug smuggler Frank Lucas, played by Denzel Washington, and finally interrogates him simmer with acting of the highest quality, and once again, Crowe proves his credentials in delivering intensity, poise and emotion in equal measure.
4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (Peter Weir, 2003)
The world of naval warfare is something of an under-represented topic throughout the world of cinema, presumably due to the sheer cost of putting such a project together on the choppy waters of the seven seas. Still, between nautical enthusiasts, the consensus is that Peter Weir’s 2003 film Master and Commander is the best movie of its kind, with Crowe playing a British captain putting his crew through its paces during the Napoleonic Wars.
A physically demanding role that was tricky to ground in some sort of reality away from the epic spectacle of cinema, Crowe did well to reign in the film with a composed performance that commanded the film’s pace.
3. The Insider (Michael Mann, 1999)
The American filmmaker Michael Mann was rightfully celebrated as one of the greatest directors of the 1990s thanks to such movies as Heat and The Last of the Mohicans, yet fans are too quick to ignore his slick crime drama The Insider from 1999. Starring opposite the great Al Pacino, Crowe played Jeffrey Wigand, a whistleblower for the tobacco industry whose real-life appearance on 60 minutes upended the industry.
Acting opposite Pacino is no easy task indeed neither is trying to thrive alongside the likes of Christopher Plummer and Michael Gambon, yet Crowe does so with ease in Mann’s underrated 1999 drama. Well emulating the personality of the real-life figure, Crowe does well to also add his own flair and creativity, creating a convincing portrait of a fascinating individual.
2. Gladiator (Ridley Scott, 2000)
One cannot think of Russell Crowe and not immediately conjure up the vision of him clad in his Ancient Roman battle armour in Ridley Scott’s truly iconic historical epic action film Gladiator. As Maximus Decimus Meridius, Crowe showcased the trials and tribulations of a Roman general betrayed by a corrupt emperor and the perilous journey he made to find his vengeance.
Crowe’s physicality is at the absolute top of his game, and the action sequences in Gladiator remain some of the best in the history of cinema. Out of the gladiator’s arena, though, Crowe proved his worth as a dramatic actor with emotional scenes that inevitably conjured up salty eye water. There was no surprise when Crowe won the ‘Best Actor’ Academy Award for his turn as Maximus, and the role remains one of the most iconic moments of the actor’s career.
1. A Beautiful Mind (Ron Howard, 2001)
At the dawn of the 2000s, Crowe was at the very top of his game, starring in back-to-back ‘Best Picture’ winners, with the latter Ron Howard movie A Beautiful Mind arguably being a slightly better performance than that he showed off in Gladiator. Playing the real-life maths genius John Nash, who won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994 despite having long suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, Crowe delivers a complex, multi-layered performance.
Adapted from the book of the same name by Sylvia Nasar, it should be said that Crowe is given utter quality to work with thanks to the Oscar-winning adapted screenplay from Akiva Goldsman, yet there’s no doubt that it is his ability to authentically sculpt the lead character that makes the film such a joy. While he was only nominated for an Oscar for his efforts, history has shown that his take on John Nash was worthy of gold.
