Russell Crowe tries his best at counterprogramming this weekend with his new prison break thriller, The Next Three Days. But how did Crowe get to the point of bankable action star after his debut on an Australian television series? You can always trace a direct line through a handful of roles (not necessarily his best roles, mind you) to illustrate what led to an actor's current success, and with Crowe, that line twists through soap operas, cop dramas, thrillers, and, of course, one fateful Oscar night. Let's look at eight performances -- including one of his earliest -- that trace the evolution of Russell Ira Crowe.
The Young Doctors (1977)
The Young Doctors ran from 1976-1983 in Australia, producing 1396 episodes. In at least one of these episodes, a future Oscar winner would guest star a young boy who is inappropriately touched by a female nurse. (OK, I have no idea if that's what's going on, but it's still kind of creepy.)
Neighbours (1987)
Like several American daytime institutions, the evening soap opera Neighbours is still running strong in Australia. The series is a virtual breeding ground for future big-name entertainers: Kylie Minogue, Guy Pearce, Alan Dale and, briefly, Russell Crowe. Look for Pearce, his future L.A. Confidential co-star, in this clip, too.
Romper Stomper (1992)
Crowe's first leading film role -- as an Australian Neo-Nazi gang leader -- would also provide his first brush with international acclaim. Romper Stomper toured the film festival circuit, and soon Crowe would be, for better or worse (for worse if you deny the man a phone or a speech; better if you're a writer for South Park), unleashed upon the world. Crowe would win Best Actor for Romper Stomper, as voted on by the Australian Film Institute.
Virtuosity (1995)
Denzel Washington! Russell Crowe! Boom! That's a pretty powerful one-two punch on the marquee. Unfortunately, we're not talking about American Gangster here. Instead, we have Virtuosity. Denzel Washington was already an established star and was obviously thinking paycheck with this stinker about a virtual bad guy named SID 6.7 who becomes real. Crowe, only known to American audiences for his smaller role in The Quick and the Dead, played the villain. Here is a clip of Crowe, as SID 6.7, strutting along to the Bee Gees' "Stayin' Alive." Because, you see, SID 6.7 is cool -- just look at the way he's dressed! Regardless, it's still Crowe's first major role in a big-budget American film.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Crowe reunites with Pearce for L.A. Confidential -- which would go on to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture. Unfortunately, that awards season would see L.A. Confidential go up against the behemoth known as Titanic. Of its nine nominations, only Kim Basinger (for Best Supporting Actress) and Curtis Hanson (for Best Adapted Screenplay would win. It's hard to express how good Crowe was as officer Bud White -- he was the heart and soul of this film.
The Insider (1999)
Crowe's best performance of his career to date -- and he should have beat his L.A. Confidential co-star Kevin Spacey for the Best Actor Oscar. Crowe put on 35 pounds to play big tobacco whistle-blower Jeffery Wigand, who was 20 years his elder. What's interesting about the scene below is that it was not shot on a studio lot, but rather the actual Mississippi courtroom where Wigand testified. As stated, Crowe would lost the top acting prize for The Insider (and later for A Beautiful Mind), but would somehow win for...
Gladiator (2000)
Crowe was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar three years in a row; Ridley Scott's Gladiator earned him the statuette. Look, Gladiator is a fine movie, but how it won all the awards that it did is still beyond me. Of course you could say that for almost all of 2000's Best Picture competition: Chocolat, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Erin Brockovich and Traffic -- not exactly a murderers row of sure things. 10 years later, Scott and Crowe would remake Gladiator as a comedy and title it Robin Hood.
State of Play (2009)
It's now been nine years since Crowe was last nominated for an Academy Award. (Though he was nominated for a Teen Choice Award this year for Action Adventure Actor for Robin Hood.) State of Play, a remake of David Yates's BBC political thriller perfectly captures our current day Russell Crowe: The underdog everyman -- this time playing a journalist, which didn't seem to lighten his opinion of the media -- who fights the odds in what are pretty serviceable action thrillers. Actually, that's a great way to describe The Next Three Days, too. These movies come, these movies go: State of Play, 3:10 to Yuma, Body of Lies, The Next Three Days. All worthwhile films, but they don't really resonate in the minds of audience members like his work from a few years ago had the ability to do. Where does he go from here?