Marriage, fatherhood sweeten salty Crowe

By Joyce J. Persico
Newhouse News Service

	Russell Crowe
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Or perhaps it was the way he roughed up a producer at BAFTA, the British equivalent of the Academy Awards.

It could even have been the fallout from his scandalous affair with then-married Meg Ryan, who co-starred with him in "Proof of Life."

Something cost Russell Crowe a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of Princeton mathematician John Nash in "A Beautiful Mind" when it swept the Academy Awards ceremony in 2002.

"It's like surfing," Crowe, 39, reasons. "One moment you're at the top of the wave, and the next you're getting your ass dumped."

Crowe is in New York for the same reason he was in Chicago and Los Angeles last month — to beat the drums for "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World," a 19th-century seafaring adventure he refers to as "a $135 million art film." It opens tomorrow in Seattle

In the Peter Weir film, Crowe plays "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, a fighting captain in the British Navy, bent on capturing a French ship during the Napoleonic Wars.

Based on the 10th of 20 Patrick O'Brian historical novels, it could become a franchise movie in the manner of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan books.

Although it's not unusual for actors to promote their films, it is odd for an actor of Crowe's stature to tour for one. And for a certified "bad boy," Crowe is acting awfully nice.

Crowe is proud of "Master and Commander" and may be swept up in the idea that his men-at-sea epic is Oscar-bound. He plunged deeply into the making of the film, forming a rugby team among his fellow actors and extras to sustain a feeling of team spirit during the shoot.

Intent on authenticity, he asked Weir to keep the cast on a schedule similar to that of men confined on a long sea voyage.

Crowe's commitment to the film began five months before the shoot and included learning how to play the violin for a short scene.

"Plenty of actors are just lazy and say, 'Give me the script, and I'll be ready in the morning.' I think it's a privilege to do research and to fill myself with the role."

In January, Crowe's wife, Danielle Spencer, will give birth to their first child, a son. The actor, who wed Spencer in early April, says he doesn't think "anything impending" can change him. But he knows something new is in store.

"When I finally get to meet the young fellow, I'll be willing to give him whatever he needs."

Wearing a wedding ring, Crowe has good memories of the ceremony performed at his 560-acre Australian ranch.

"It was pretty special. We were looking to bring our families together. We wanted it to be like a welcoming.

"There were only 80 people, and they arrived on a Friday. By Monday, the day of the wedding, everyone was friends. The whole design of the wedding chapel was a circle of love. Then came the arrival of Danielle. It was fantastic.

"One of her cousins said it was the most romantic thing she'd ever seen — me cleaning up the grass that came off people's shoes as they entered the chapel. I cleaned the floor so Danni wouldn't see the bits of grass."

If quick-tempered Crowe is acting, it's an Oscar-worthy performance. He seems almost transfixed by the memory of the wedding to his off-and-on girlfriend of many years.

His voice lowers when he speaks of the son who will join them in two months. And he has no intention of leaving acting, no matter what anyone writes about him.

"Sometimes you look at the way you're presented to people, and it (leaving acting) does cross your mind from time to time," he says. "I know it crosses my wife's mind. She knows the difference between the real me and what's printed. I'm not going to have a knee-jerk reaction to the bull written about me. I try not to let it worry me."

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company