Russell Crowe: 5 Awesome Performances & 5 That Sucked

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By Alex Leadbeater /

Universal Pictures

Russell Crowe once (allegedly) said "I'm the greatest actor in the world and I can make even sh*t sound good." Now that's a pretty bold statement (and from a modern perspective a little laughable), although considering that quote came from 2000 you can kinda see where he was coming from - for a brief period it did look like he was going to be an untouchable, eternal giant.

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Breaking out from obscurity in the late-nineties and going straight into two on-the-trot Best Picture winners, he's an actor with a proven versatility and strong name recognition that no amount of phonecall issues can dampen. Things have taken a bit of a tumble recently (I'm talking movies, rather than his outbursts), with fewer high profile releases and a greater proportion of duds stinking up his filmography, even if there's still strong reminders of his early heights.

So is he the greatest actor in the world? Was he ever? Let's find out. With him back on UK screens in Shane Black's incredibly enjoyable 70s pastiche The Nice Guys, let's take a look back over the Kiwi's career with five of his most awesome performances and five where he couldn't quite make sh*t sound good.

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