Russell Crowe Quotes

God bless America. God save the Queen. God defend New Zealand and thank Christ for Australia.

I've been voted one of Australia's 50 national treasures. I've even had my face on an Australian stamp - the only non-Australian to do so, apart from the Queen, of course.

From a young kid, I was quite interested in religion.

Australians and New Zealanders don't talk about Gallipoli in terms of invasion. I started talking about it and using that word and at first there were a few people who were getting upset in the same way that in any country, if you work for a newspaper you know exactly the dude you can go and talk to get a knee-jerk reaction when it comes to something to do with the military.

I didn't get married to get divorced.

In my life there were times when dreams have nothing to do with reality, but obviously they were prophetic dreams. And I know that if we look closely and listen carefully, we can see the supernatural signs that determine our future. We all meet with various everyday difficulties and overcoming them, we grow and develop.

I got a guitar when I was six and, instead of learning other people's songs, started to try to write my own, even at that young age.

Iceland is fascinating; really an amazing place to visit, and great for a film to go there.

I've never, ever in my life touched a photographer. Some of the cruellest things I've ever said have been to photographers who are chasing me down the street, some of the sharpest, most efficient emotional barbs. And they know that in that moment, in that one-to-one wit competition, they just got smashed.

If you actually read the Bible, you can see there's a whole lot more information in there than the way we interpret the Bible. Because there are single lines in the Bible where if you just take them at face-value, they don't make any sense whatsoever in the world we see, we know, and we understand.

I can rely on me [being a director], unlike some actors. I never got anything less than what I needed from the lead actor.

You don't want to be starting a film not knowing what you want to do.

I do occasionally wonder, if you were to bring to life one of those young men who sacrificed themselves in what was advertised to them as the Great War, and the war to end all war, and show them that we're still engaged in armed conflict in the same area, I'm not sure that they would be pleased about what their sacrifices amounted to.

You need to learn to live with your mistakes. And you need to be in a position to say No once in a while. It's important in life, and it's important for any career that you want to pursue.

You don't have to like an actor to do a scene with him. You don't have to like a director. But it's just better if you do. And I think, you know, you've got to begin that with respect.

I have respect for beer.

War isn't just about bravery and courage and jingoism and patriotism. It's also fundamentally about grief. And the people that go and do the fighting and the dying are never the people who actually benefit from the fighting and the dying.

If I don't get the goose-bump factor when I'm reading it than I can't do it.

Meg Ryan is a beautiful and courageous woman. I grieve the loss of her companionship but I've not lost the friendship. We talk all the time and that was what our connection was about. She has a wonderful mind and we just like a chat.

Anyway, I'm doing my rave and this spittle comes out of my mouth and it winds its way very delicately through the wire fence that separates us and lands clear and bright on Denzel's lip. And we're at the beginning of the scene and I've got to do the rest of the scene, and the camera isn't on him, it's on me - and I'm fully aware that I've just spat on Denzel Washington!

I'm not one of those fellows that is just going to have a psuedo-middling relationship.

In tyranny lies only failure. Empower every man and you will gain strength.

If you grow up ... in the suburbs of anywhere, a dream like this seems kind of vaguely ludicrous and completely unattainable, this moment is directly connected to those childhood imaginings. And for anybody who's on the downside of advantage, and relying purely on courage, it's possible.

Every building you come out of, there is a parasite there exercising his constitutional right to make money out of being a parasite, trying to take your photo. Frankly, folks, I go to work, I do my job. I really concentrate, and if you go to the cinema, pay your money and have a good time. That's the end of it, as far as I'm concerned.

I've got bits falling off me. I'm not made of rubber. That's from film stunts. Every single injury I have is related to a movie. I know that sounds fundamentally embarrassing.

Are you not entertained?

'Swallow My Gift' is all about music being its own reward. I don't do it to become more famous; I don't do it to make money. I don't do it from an ego-driven point of view.

If there's anything about someone's life that's important enough to make a movie about it, I have to take responsibility to get all of it right. It's a huge responsibility.

Imagine what you will be, and it will be so.

You don't want to be the guy whose back's to the camera in the emotional part of the movie. So, you have to be aware of the camera movement and what the camera's doing.

Like everyone else, I've had moments when I've felt that I've been losing my grip.

My definition [of genius] would be about being completely involved in your art form. So that's outside of sciences. Within the arts it's about taking people on a journey, being able to involve me completely-whether you're singing a song, whether it's in the theater, whether you're dancing-if you can make me forget I'm sitting in a seat, that's my definition of genius.

It's such an intimate experience, being a director, artistically. It's deep and it's satisfying and it's wonderful, on so many levels, but it's also really scary.

I'm sick to death of famous people standing up and using their celebrity to promote a cause. If I see a particular need, I do try to help. But there's a lot that can be achieved by putting a check in the right place and shutting up about it.

I respond in the moment which is what makes me a good actor.

Some people have got advice, some people have got horror stories. I like people that look you in the eye with a glow and say "It's gonna be cool."

If you put 20 cents in me and ask me to talk about South Sydney, I'll play all night.

You can't understand it until you experience the simple joy of the first time your son points at a seagull and says 'Duck!'

A lot of the things that other people from outside the business would see as crazy or strange are just a natural part of the working process. Preparation is key, and detail and collaboration are the rule, but no matter how many hours you spend preparing, there's always something.

I never actually expected success, but it doesn't surprise me when it comes because I know how much work I put into what I do.

I've followed Leeds since I was a little kid. I used to come home from sport in the afternoon, me and my brother, and watch 'Match of the Day.' I love the club. I want nothing but success for the club.

I hate having long hair. It's like walking around with a dead koala on your back!

The secret to riches is the same as the secret to comedy - timing.

I don't play chess with my life, ya' know.

I always say I've given 24 insufficient performances and I'm looking forward to the time in my life when I'll do something that I think is good. There's always stuff you can do better, stuff that maybe you didn't uncover enough. But if you do something that you truly believe is perfect, then that's got to be the last movie you do.

I have to believe I got some kind of say over our lives.

For filmmakers who've made multiple movies, they have experience, but they only have experience of themselves as a filmmaker. Whereas I'm bouncing around from different skill sets: the organizational ability of Ridley Scott to the precision of a Ron Howard to the artistic sensibilities of a Peter Weir ... to the scope of a Tom Hooper.

If there is no blood on the line, it is not rugby league.

'He's the most charming man. He's the Oscar Wilde of our time. I only had one moment with him in that film and it's a great source of regret. I love spending time with him. He's always very open and effusive. His interest in you is genuine.'

My children have never watched any of my films. Charlie knows that daddy makes movies, but he says they are not good enough for him to watch.

If you're a certain type of actor, then eventually stepping into a director's shoes is a natural transition. I've always been the actor who's very focused on the narrative, where my character is in the story, and how I can benefit the story. I've always had a technical aspect of what the lens is, how the camera is going to move, how I can feed the information the director applies within that move. If you're that type of actor, narrative-based, technically proficient, the next step is actually not that far.

I was too kind of brave and proud to want a dialect coach because I thought that showed weakness in my armor. But then you just learn it's a more efficient way of doing it. A dialect coach is really important because it takes a certain technical responsibility off your shoulders.

This is possibly the most shameful situation I've ever gotten myself in in my life, and I've done some pretty dumb things in my life. So to actually make a new No. 1 is spectacularly stupid.

At 49, I find it a little bit difficult to run these days. I've got grade four tears in both Achilles, shin splints, I got no cartilage the toes in my right foot, I've got bone marrow edemas under both knees, I've got one degenerating hip - that's the problem you get.

Even bad men love their mamas.

Once you're a parent, male or female, every single thing that happens in your life is seen through the prism of being a parent.

There's an ease that I have living in Australia. The best things about Sydney are free: the sunshine's free, and the harbour's free, and the beach is free.

While I was trying to save money to go to the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Australia I ended up getting all of this experience which meant that by the time I had enough money in the bank to go to school I didn't really need to go to school anymore.

I love going shopping. I have a black belt in it.

I'm destined to be attracted to those I cannot defeat.

When I was a young fellow, I used to learn the dialogue backwards. The point is that in a conversation between two people, you can't have already made the decisions about what you're gonna do. You gotta be very light on your feet. That leads you into areas where conversations can have a much bigger, grander meaning.

Whenever I hear an American say Aussies drive on the 'wrong side of the road,' I just lose it. You ever think about how those people grew up driving on the 'wrong side of the road,' watched a lot of people get hurt on the 'wrong side of the road,' die on the 'wrong side of the road,' while other people cheered from the 'right side of the road'? Australia has a thing called Highway Fights, so it's touchy.

I think that if there are problems in journalism they're created by journalists ... the trivialisation of the news and the sort of snyed, cynical allowance of untruth to be in a newspaper because it might be titillating.

If you live like it's the past and you behave like it's the past, then guys from the future find it very hard to see you.

The thing about films is you learn new stuff all the time. You think you can get to a point where you've got it all down. But then another, different situation arises.

If you're a waiter, the worst thing you can do is go to work resenting your job. This will sound trite - but it's the reality, and part of my personality - yet when I was a waiter, I tried to be the best waiter, and when I was a bingo-caller I tried to be the best bingo-caller.

We can't repay our good luck with bad grace. It invites darkness.

I don't know if I was ever looking for this kind of success- it came along as a by-product of concentrating on what I was doing.

Do I think Cate Blanchett is the most spectacular creature that ever walked the planet? Yes, I do.

I'm a virtuoso in my job in that there's not an actor I can't go into a scene with and be absolutely confident that, whatever is required of my character, I can do it.

I want to make movies that pierce people's hearts and touch them in some way, even if it's just for the night while they're in the cinema; in that moment, I want to bring actual tears to their eyes and goosebumps to their skin.

I don't make demands. I don't tell you how it should be. I'll give you options, and it's up to you to select or throw 'em away. That should be the headline: If you're insecure, don't call.

I don't really take vacations because when I'm working, it's usually in a far-flung, exotic place somewhere. But I have a farm in Australia I like to go back to when I'm at home and not working.

I'd done stage musicals for quite a few years, starting with 'Grease' in Auckland.

When I was a little kid, I used to really embarrass my parents.

It just seems like a religion that is perfect for people who feel like they need a grounding, who feels that the world has run off on them. I've discussed this with Scientologists, and they don't disagree. So, for a certain type of person, that's great.

There's nothing like sitting back and talking to your cows.