Crowe will star in a new movie schedule to be released on April 17, 2009. In State of Play, Crowe’s character is Cal McCaffrey, a street smart reporter; an old world journalist who appears as a shining knight who is after the truth. While filming in Washington, D.C., we learn, Crowe acquired an education in journalism from The Washington Post’s Metro editor, R.B. Brenner. Joining him in this film are award winning actors including, Edward Norton, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams and Helen Mirren. The moive is based on State of Play, a BBC series that riveted television viewers all across the U.K.

Born in New Zealand, Russell Crowe’s home has been Australia since he was a young child. The son of movie set caterers, Crowe found himself attracted to acting at a very young age. His first big break came with Romper Stomper in 1992. The Sum of Us in 1994, helped put him on the American map. Virtuosity in 1995, a Sci-Fi extravaganza, was a fun film and opened the door to many American offers including, L.A. Confidential and Mystery, Alaska. Crowe buffed up and undertook the title role in Ridley Scott’s big-budgeted summer release, Gladiator in 2000. Playing Maximus, a fallen Roman general-turnedprofessional fighter, Crowe dominated the film. He is said to have torn a hole in the big screen with his intensity – earning rave notices and a Best Actor Academy Award for his efforts. The role solidified Crowe as one of Hollywood’s top actors and most bankable male movie stars. Since Gladiator, Crowe has been featured in, A Beautiful Mind, Master and Commander: The far Side of the World, Cinderella Man, A Good Year, 3:10 to Yuma, American Gangster and Body of Lies.

On earning his Academy Award for Gladiator, Russell Crowe shared this about the experience. “I took a leap of faith,” he said. “What I’ve learned is, as long as you’re involving yourself with the right people, a leap of faith is possible on a feature film. You don’t actually have to have all the t’s crossed and the i’s dotted if you’re part of a collaborative. One day, just for myself,” he continues, “to get into the scene, I bowed to the different points of the coliseum, and by the last bow, 5,000 people were on their feet screaming. My acknowledgement of them was important. So that meant that every day we were shooting, instead of having a dozen assistant directors with loud hailers to alert the extras when we finished our rehearsals and the camera was set and we were ready to shoot, I bowed to the different points in the coliseum and everybody put away their lunch pails, stopped  what they were doing, and got into the job. It was a magnificent thing.“

Born on Apr. 7, 1964 in Wellington, New Zealand, Crowe grew up in and around show business. His grandfather, Stan Wemyss, was a cinematographer whose footage of World War II earned him the title of Member of the Order of the British Empire. His parents, Alex and Jocelyn, were both film set caterers who moved the family to Australia because of better job opportunities, providing Crowe ready access when he began acting at age six. “I was on film sets from the time I was a little kid, Crowe reflects. ‘I don’t think there was ever a series of decisions, it just looked like fun. Somebody asked me if I wanted to do it, so I did it. Getting to movies… it’s like the last circle in a concentric spiral. I like to do things well, so when I found it and did it well, I knew it was for me.” So enjoy the excitement of State of Play and keep an eye on this guy because Russell Crowe will work once again with Gladiator director, Ridley Scott, on the reworking of the Robin Hood story, Nottingham due for release in 2010.

The truth is… there is a lot about Russell Crowe that isn’t Happy Herald material. His name has been in the tabloids numerous times for altercations. Yet I believe his shadow side has gotten enough attention to help him see the light. It’s so true….life really does imitate art.