High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is a New Zealander Australian actor , film producer and musician. He came to international attention for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, an Empire Award for Best Actor and a London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and ten further nominations for Best Actor. Crowe appeared as the tobacco firm whistle blower Jeffrey Wigand in 1999 film The Insider, for which he received five awards as Best Actor and seven nominations in the same category. In 2001, Crowe`s portrayal of mathematician and nobel prize winner John F. Nash in the biopic A Beautiful Mind brought him numerous awards, including an BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor category Motion Picture Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. Crowe`s other films include L.A. Confidential (1997), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) Cinderella Man (2005), American Gangster (2007), 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and Robin Hood (2010). Crowe`s work has earned him several accolades, including a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, three Academy Award nominations in a row (1999 – 2001), one Golden Globe Award for Best Actor , one BAFTA, and an Academy Award. Due to his success and character variety, critics have often called him a “virtuoso” actor. He is also co-owner of South Sydney Rabbitohs, an Australian National Rugby League team.