Payback time!

doweshowbellyad=0; Russell Crowe in a still from American Gangster More picsOscar-winner Russell Crowe, 43, has an impressive list of films to boast of. The actor best-remembered for his rivetting performance as Maximus in Sir Ridley Scott’s Gladiator was also much lauded for his performances in The Insider, A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man.
After the romantic comedy A Good Year, American Gangster is Crowe’s third film with Sir Ridley Scott and there will be more — they are currently filming the thriller Body of Lies and plan to shoot Nottingham next year.Crowe’s fascination with American Gangster, which is based on a true story is partly with finding out what happens when two vastly different worlds collide.
In this case, the criminal world of Frank Lucas — played by Denzel Washington — a millionaire drugs baron who ruled the streets of Harlem through a heady mixture of enterprise, cunning and fear, and the cop assigned to head the team that hunts him down, Detective Richie Roberts, played by Crowe. In an exclusive with BT, Crowe talks about the movie and his fiercely guarded personal life
Your character Richie has high moral values at work, but he’s not as faithful, when it comes to his home life...
Money is not a motivating factor for Richie in terms of being a policeman. One of the interesting things about this film is that both the lead characters are morally questionable.
The film deals with serious issues like drugs and the appeal of gangsters...
I think it was a moral responsibility from Ridley’s point of view to show the destruction that Frank Lucas brought about for the community.
I think Ridley has done a great job in showing that on one side of Frank’s life, he is an upstanding man. He takes him mum to church every Sunday.
But on the other side, what he’s actually doing, the business he is engaged in, kills people. And there is a certain part of the movie where it goes from being almost glamourous to very fundamental, when you start seeing shots of addicted mothers with their babies crying while they are shooting up. I think Ridley did a great job in showing the destruction that Frank Lucas has brought about.
How could you relate to Richie Roberts?
At a very essential level I understood what he was talking about. He had decided that if it was his lot in life to stand on the edge and throw stones at the big monster, corruption, law, then that was going to be his job.
Thank God in our world there are people who will be selfless like that and give their lives and their careers over to the greater good.
Richie’s got the same moral compass now that he had then. He denies being quite the womaniser that we portray him in the movie, but the actuality of finding out about his life would seem to indicate that we were actually kind to him on that respect.
I agree with him, some corruption is benign. What father wouldn’t steal to feed a starving child? However, the other side of that, somebody who will steal money from a position of responsibility as a policeman? That’s corruption.
How different is it playing a real person that you’ve actually met?
There is a greater responsibility and you try and be accurate with your portrayal where you can. If you asked me 10 years ago if I was interested in playing real characters I probably would have said that I don’t think so. But it just seems to have become a thing that’s part of what I do. I actually do get really engaged if it’s a true story.
Does Ridley push you?
I think we push each other. That’s why we like working together. We can have an argument across the room without saying a word (laughs).
He’s one of the greatest visual artists ever. Luckily for me, he enjoys what I do, so it’s just a great privilege for me to be on his film sets. He likes me to question him and tell him what I’m observing. Probably only Ron Howard is another director who gives me the same level of responsibility. But that really engages me.
How was it working with Denzel Washington?
It was way back in 1995 when we first worked together in Virtuosity and the bond we formed way back then has only strengthened.
And I can never forget one night in particular after a long day’s filming on Virtuosity. Denzel came to my trailer with two cigars and a bottle of cognac. So we sat there just drinking and chatting and I always remembered something he said and for me doing American Gangster is a partial pay back for that.
He sat there and said ‘You know, I’ve never said this to any other actor, but man, I wish I was playing your role. So when I got the script, all those years ago, came to mind because I’m reading it going ‘man, I wish I was playing Frank Lucas!’ So the process of getting involved in this is really a form of repaying him, a certain loyalty from 12 years ago.
You have a reputation for being an absolutely no bullshit actor. How do you deal with ‘Hollywood’ and is it still ‘the last place on Earth’ that you would want to live as you once said?
It’s not around me all the time, because I live in Australia (laughs). But my attitude has actually changed quite dramatically since I gave that quote ten years ago. Man, that quote has been shoved back at me so many times (laughs).
When I said that I was a young actor coming in here it was all sort of strange and weird and everything and I said something disparaging. But over time the amount of people I know in this town, it’s a very comfortable place for me to come into now. And just socially, even for my wife as well, she’s got a lot of friends here. When you are on a movie set that’s your work environment so that’s not quote un quote ‘Hollywood’.
It was a great quote...
Yeah, I always give good quotes! (laughs). I think LA’s the office, it’s where business gets done, where things get set up, but for me to remain fresh with what I do and just to inform myself as a human, to be out of the town, out of the country, it’s just better.
Have you changed your work schedule now you are a father of two?
Definitely. There are some movies I say no to because they are being shot in a place that is not going to be comfortable for the kids.
Life is completely different without them around and I don’t like not being in the same house as them on a daily basis.
Sometimes you have to put up with it and sometimes it just doesn’t work out. If some story idea grabs me then that’s probably the thing I’m going to do, but I do have greater considerations in terms of their schedule and family life. So just like everybody else, you blend it in and try and make it work.