Russell Crowe returns to our screens today as Javert in Tom Hooper's solid adaptation of the classic musical Les Misérables, so we've thought there no better time to pore over the actor's back catalogue and determine his five best and five worst performances. An actor of Crowe's calibre is fortunate not to be saddled with too many poor efforts, and generally speaking, even the less-good films he stars in he manages to bring something of intrigue to; take Sam Raimi's 1995 Western flop The Quick and The Dead - as Cort, Crowe is probably one of the best things in it even if the film sucks. Though he's given some of cinema's best recent performances and even earned himself Academy glory for it, he's also given a few turkeys
, and shockingly, most of them are pretty recent - in fact, two of them were from the last two months. Nevertheless, we're sure the actor will bounce back given that he's currently shooting the hugely ambitious religious epic Noah with Darren Aronofsky.
Here are Russell Crowe's 5 awesome performances and 5 that sucked.
5 Awesome Performances...
5. Jim Braddock - Cinderella Man
Cinderella Man is an exemplary film from Ron Howard that's based on the true life story of Jim Braddock, a man who endures strife during the Depression Era like most others, but through his boxing becomes a symbol of hope and triumph over adversity to the American people. Crowe's Braddock is the ultimate example of a man who goes from nothing to something, working his way up from an impoverished unknown to become the heavyweight champ. What's so great about this performance is that it demands a real dual quality of the actor; he is required to at once portray a personable every-man but also convey the more physically commanding aspects of the character in the ring. A good movie is elevated to become a great one through Crowe's steely portrayal, braced perfectly between the poles of tender emotion and pure, visceral power.