Since I so rarely get a chance to write about Russell Crowe these days, I allowed myself a momentary sexual fantasy about Rusty and how he’s the surliest charmer ever. I mean, Rusty is probably a mess, he’s definitely a great actor, and he could still get it… with me, anyway. Anyway, this story is not about Rusty’s arguable sex appeal. It’s about who you would put money on in a potential bitch-fight smackdown between Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman. Jackman is Wolverine, for sure. But Russell is a bar brawler. It’s a tough call! So, Star Magazine claims that the two Aussies grew to hate each other as they worked on Les Miserables in England earlier this year. Do you believe that?
They’re two of the toughest guys in Hollywood. But behind the scenes of Les Miserables, Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman are fighting like catty tween girls.
“They refuse to be in the same room – trying to get them to promote a film together is a nightmare,” a source tells Star.
“They’ve known each other for a decade, but during this shoot, any shred of civility was thrown aside. They can’t stand each other, each calling the other an embarrassment to the profession. Russell sneers at Hugh’s musical-theater background. But Hugh says Russell embarrassed his country with his bad reputation in Hollywood.”
Costar Anne Hathaway has tried to mend fences, but the actors won’t budge.
“Producers hope she can convince them to come to a truce, but it’s not looking very promising.”
[From Star Magazine, print edition]
Reasons why this could be possible: Russell has a reputation of being prickly and diva-ish. Russell also seems to be one of those men who prizes “manliness” and who would probably eschew the kind of musical theater that Hugh loves. Also, I never underestimate a grown man’s ability to turn into a bitchy little Mean Girl at the drop of the hat. It happens all the time. Look at Congress.
Reasons why it’s probably not true: the Star story makes it sound like filming is ongoing, when they finished principle filming months ago; Hugh Jackman has a reputation as a consummate professional, and I just can’t see him getting into this kind of ego-war. And although I’ve heard bad things about Russell in the past, I think fatherhood and marriage has softened him a bit, and I can’t see him attacking Hugh like this.
Do you want to see the Les Mis trailer again? Here you go.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet, WENN.
Pretty sure Hugh loves everyone. Rusty…not so much but the feeling is mutual. Grumpy little shit.
I have always thought Russell was sexy
Ooh, that trailer looks so good! I can’t wait for it to come out as Les Mis is my favourite musical, plus add in Hugh = swoon. Anne Hathaway’s singing was quite good there too.
As for this story, I think it’s bulldust, mate!! I can hear Rusty saying that, can’t you?
The trailer made me cry! I cannot wait to see this movie!
For some reason I thought the casting of the two main characters was opposite – Hugh Jackman as Inspector Javert and Russell Crowe as Jean Valjean. I’m really liking that it’s actually the reverse. Crowe seems like an actor who can play someone so rigid and blindly driven. He’s the bad guy in the story but always so well loved by audiences.
Russell’s reputation as a bar brawler is that he gets drunk, starts fights and gets his ass handed to him.
The claim is absolute hogwash. The Star is a garbage tabloid that just makes stuff up. Crowe and Jackman are friends and have spoken highly of one another during and and after they finished filming.
Crowe hasn’t “brawled” or been in any fights with anyone in many many years.
LOL, I happened to follow the production of Les Mis and I can assure you all it’s a complete bullshit. They are actors of couse, but I don’t think they would complement each other on twitter every other day and hang out together according to other actors and crew’s tweets, if they “couldn’t stand each other”. These rugs should do their research, before putting together crap like this if they want anyone to believe it.
Completely agree. I call BS on this story. It’s obvious the two actors get along and it’s obvious Star Magazine is making this crap up.
makes me miserable; so many actors these days who, I’m old fashioned, can’t stand up to actors of a generation past. Please pass the geritol, and I’m only 44
please let this movie to be good.
I feel the same way!
I’ll buy rusty a drink anytime…Hugh is cool but he will not get my vote.
Rusty all the ways
Team Gladiator
For the record, Russell Crowe also starred in musicals during his career, exactly in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, the video is on You Tube. Anyway, as Janice said, there are a lot of reports from cast and crew of Les Miserables attesting the respect and mutual friendship between Jackman and Crowe.
+1
I saw Russell in the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and I still have the programme!
These two get along just fine – this story is a load of bs.
+2
I don’t buy it either. It’s well known that Hugh is super nice to everyone and Russell is probably not that bad. They are both Aussies, I guess at least they connected because of that.
Hah! Don’t call Rusty an Aussie to his face! Don’t you recall the Oscars where he took great pains to point out that he’s a Kiwi?
Also, Hugh is British, but recognises his Aussie status
Reply to Charlotte (25 Aug). You’re wrong. Hugh is an Aussie (born and bred in Sydney). You are confused because his parents are British, but his dad and siblings live in Sydney still. As for Russell, he lives just outside of Sydney on a farm. He’s proud of his Kiwi roots but prefers living in Sydney. At the Academy Awards press junket after he won his Oscar, he blessed NZ and then said “thank Christ for Australia”, obviously referring to his career start in Oz. He has a wife and 2 children that are Aussies so I doubt if he would be offended if someone called him one.
+3
follow their tweets (follow Crowe’s tweets:he’s addict to twitter),
you can see that Crowe loved the filming
Anne Hathaway has a nice voice
Wait isn’t Star the same tabloid that did the Joseph Gordon-Levitt hates Anne Hathaway story like two weeks ago? Did they just do a find and replace in their Word document? So lazy Star! Of course it’s bull , Star is now repeating the same made up story!
Not believing it. They might not particularly care for each other, but I’m sure they know how to deal with it. They also must have known each other much longer than a decade. They were both part of the Aussie wave of actors that came over in the 90s: Rusty, Hugh, Naomi Watts, Nicole Kidman, Simon Baker, etc… They all worked in Australia before that.
To truly appreciate what Russell Crowe is, you have to read this:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/when-i-was-russell-crowes-stooge/2006/06/06/1149359738242.html?page=fullpage
Thank you for the link. The article was amazing.
After reading the article all I got was how fake and manipulative he is. How he uses his status “huge Hollywood star” to make journalist like him to write things about him. It sounds Kim his life is a huge movie. He is the nice guy until he doesn’t need you any more.
Very interesting article. I wonder if this is the norm in the entertainment industry or if Russell takes courting/buying off the media to new heights?
I never cared for him after he and Meg Ryan got together. He seems loutish and this article did nothing to dispel that notion.
I don’t believe a word of it. His co-stars and directors always seem to get along great with Russell. Why would he work with the same directors over and over. I know the media lies after being at performance of his band with my sister shortly after winning the oscar. The crowd kept chanting for him to bring out his oscar,s o he did and the crowd went crazy cheering. The next day we read an article that was complete b.s. saying something to the effect of “he brought out his oscar for some odd reason and the crowd got so quiet you could hear a pin drop.” Nothing could have ben further from the truth. Since then I just assume these stories are completely made up – about any celebrity. And the “sources” always say things in a way no one ever talks. It’s so fake.
Really? There is only one director that works with him.
Crowe is known for being difficult.
An entire film project was cancelled in Australia because of his diva attitude. Crowe is a good manipulator and if he thinks he’ll have an audience, he’ll come to the party, if not, he’ll be the biggest douche.
he worked several times with Ridley Scott (4 times)and Ron Howard (2 times) and he’s known to be temperal on set but he’s not a diva (usually he has some nice relations with his colleagues)
Crowe worked in France for A GOOD YEAR and the people of the aera kept a good memory of him
I don’t think that’s true. Hugh is a genuine nice man, he wouldn’t get into a stupid cat-fight. Also what’s wrong with liking musical theatres?
About Russel.. well, I’m betting on him. I want him to get and do better, he’s such a great actor.
Russell…ALWAYS.
My Russ Lust has been on hold for a while because he’s not been on screen as much as he used to be, but when Le Mis hits theaters, I’m THERE! Opening night, first in line…don’t get in my way.
Forgive the unsolicited advice but 3:10 to Yuma is magnificent. Crowe and Bale smoke the fudge out of that thing. Wonderful acting.
I don’t understand the Crowe hate – I think he can be belligerent sometimes because of his ego (but he is an exceptional actor, so… but talent never excuses bad behaviour – I am so flummoxed to be discussing my beloved Russ!) but it always seems to be in service of his art. He can show such tender humanity in his eyes, even when he is playing a murderer. Amazing.
And I think he doesn’t tolerate fools which tends to upset fools! (Many are in the entertainment media)
But seriously, 3:10 to Yuma is great. Violent but great. Bale holds his own and it is a pleasure to watch actors of that calibre fighting for the scene.
Team Russell. Jackman is an overrated bore who has never been in a decent film. Not a one.
Not true.
Flushed Away is one of my absolute favorite films!
Eskineville Kings
The Prestige (with Bale)
Deception (with Ewan McGregor)
X Men 2 (and 1, but 2 is a classic)
Dude is a presence and an able actor.
All mediocre just like Jackman.
Epic clash of egos! I would move out of the area if those two were snarling at each other. Wolverine vs. Gladiator
Must disagree with you, gg. I would buy tickets to this.
*I really just wanted to reply because your name is gg.
This is total Bulls/hit. I am sure they got along great. I would also like to believe that Russell respects all forms of Art, including musical theatre. Love them both!
Love how even when two men are supposedly fighting they are compared to catty tween girls.
Seriously! Dudes fight all the time. Quit calling them girls for fighting.
Also? Unless there is video of them oiled up and stripped to the waist and wrestling with full body contact – don’t waste my time.
If there is a problem, I suspect that it is over jealousy.
Hugh has had a heck of a decade. Lots of cash made. Lots of high profile jobs. Everyone loves him. And from the looks of it… very professional on the set.
Russell.
His career never met with the potential that the studio’s needed. Because he is a asshole who can not behave. Has not had a successful decade. And still thinks it is 2001 and him being surly is acceptable behavior.
He has found out different.
So I could see there is jealousy involve. But not hate.
But Russell only has him self to blame.
Russell’s done repeat duty for two directors: Ron Howard and Ridley Scott.
And I think Russell’s more enlightened about “manliness” than you might think: he purposefully sought the role of a gay man in “The Sum of Us” — especially in the light of his intense role in “Romper Stomper.”
he was in a musical also
I LO♥̸̸̨̨̨͡͡E Hugh Jackman. That’s all
Elegant Man (Hugh) & Caveman (Rusty) duke it out?
Why can’t they be one in the same for a gal? I’d still pick Hugh tho’, Rusty ya lost it after “Gladiator” for me anyways.
Agree with Lydia, Pancake Bacon and Carrie: I don’t believe this for a moment – the reasons stated here and above why this isn’t true seem valid. Though I’m sure he can be a pain in the arse, Crowe’s passion, beyond acting, is music.
HUGE Crowe fan, can’t stand Jackman. Having said that, I don’t believe this story. I do think that Crowe’s reputation as a jerk is highly overrated; at least, I think he’s probably changed/settled down a good bit at this point. As other people have pointed out, he also started out in musical theater, and he has worked with the same people multiple times, so I think it’s largely grown out of proportion. Most of all, I believe both of these men to be eminently professional, and so I doubt they would be fighting on set.
I cannot WAIT for this movie. Crowe as Javert is pretty much a dream come true for me.
Let’s concentrate on their looks in Les Mis for a moment, shall we? Because Rusty is yummy with the short hair and salt and pepper beard. He looks better than Hugh, and that’s saying something. Granted, I always had the hots for him.
Other than that, I hope the falling out news is not true, I love both actors.
I’d believe anything of Russell Crowe. He tanked his own career with his crazy-disgusting behavior and got fat, canceling out his hotness (sorry to be cruel, but it’s true and said of actresses all the time). He is no respecter of people.
LOL at “surliest charmer ever.” Russell could still get it with me too. Him circa Gladiator will always and forever be my number one fantasy man. Anyway, I love both of them and hope this isn’t true, though I wouldn’t put it past Russell. It’s always seemed to me like all those Aussie actors are pals bound by a mutual disgust of all the hot messes out in HWood, which is kind of adorable.
I don’t think this is true. Australian actors are so loyal to each other. Besides, I think Russell has mellowed. When he was filming “72 Hours” in Pittsburgh, he sometimes hung out in my favorite little Irish Pub. He would come in through the back and sit at the bar and have a drink or two. We know the staff there pretty well, and they said he was always very friendly and polite. He’s changed a lot since his phone-throwing days!
You have to laugh at the notion of actors as national ambassadors or else the Australian government would have staged an intervention for Nicole Kidman’s plastic surgery addiction by now. I can see those two not getting long. Hugh Jackman is not inhibited and Russell Crowe is obviously repressed. Hugh is a “jouissif” whereas Russell is a bag of conflicted chauvinism. I see Russell Crowe leading a lynch mob while Hugh would turn away in disdain and walk on. I really don’t see them getting along.
Javert and Valjean are in a rivalry. How appropriate! Ha. Seriously, I don’t believe it, though I’d not be surprised of anything that Crowe does.
Nah this is baloney.Didn’t occur to anyone that if this was said,which I doubt,that it is but a jest.Aussie humor that is all.Crowe has a great career,as he keeps getting good parts.Tabloids want to sell negativity to the customers and Star is no different.They are selling a old image of Russell but leave out Jackman’s sexual orientation. This is reporting?
This rumour is pure BS.
What is REALLY weird is that there are STILL people out there who believe everything an anonymous “source” will invent on a gossip website well known for its lack of candour with the truth.
If you want to know what Crowe is actually like check out his twitter feed. He is no Neanderthal.
“There is only one director that works with him.”
Really ? I guess Ron Howard (directed him twice and is happy to go a third time with The Dark Tower) , James Mangold, Peter Weir,Tom Hooper, Darren Aronofsky, Zack Snyder and Kevin MacDonald don’t count ? Oops, two Best Director Oscars in there…!!
I read through the history of tweets on Hugh’s page and he asked Aussies to back Danielle Spencer in the Aussie version of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ a few months ago when he was working on Les Mis. Now why would he do that if he was at odds with Russell???
If there is truth to the story, then the answer why might be something to do with the past. Both are really great friends with Nicole. Hugh got the part in ‘Australia’ (the movie) only because Russell had turned it down because he was insistent on seeing a script first. As none had been made up, Baz (the director) decided to approach Hugh, who after some chats with Nicole, was coerced into signing on without seeing a script. Just after he signed, Russell approached Baz wanting the role as he had changed his mind, but it was too late because Hugh got in first. I think that might have something to do with any nastiness IF there is any at all, which I doubt.
Thanks for all the informative comments, everyone. All I can say is that I sure hope they make up before I require them to visit my home here in Las Vegas, in order to teach Astrology to coma survivors. Whoosh…(-: – I’m trying to start a Non-Profit, and stars like them are what I need to promote me. So, listen up boys, for the sake of your careers, MakeUp!