After Daniel Day-Lewis had repeatedly passed on the role, rising star (Gladiator had not yet been released) and native New Zealander Russell Crowe was Peter Jackson's next top choice to play Aragorn. Despite being attracted to the idea of filming such a high-profile project in his own country, scheduling conflicts with Ron Howard's A Beautiful Mind meant that Crowe was unable to commit to the 18 month production, so he was forced to turn down the part. Interestingly, there is also a financial reason behind Crowe declining the offer to play the heir of Gondor. With the trilogy's budget under increasing pressure from studio executives, the actor was offered 10% of the profits as opposed to an upfront salary. With his career still in the ascendancy, Crowe was unwilling to accept such a deal, and confessed during a talk about his career in 2011 that turning down The Lord Of The Rings was a huge mistake.