There's no denying his bad-boy image, but there´s much more to discover about this talented actor.

Behind Russell Crowe's Rebellions by Diane Clehane

He´s the anti-movie star.

In this era of super slick celebrities who crave Hollywood´s attention, Russell Crowe is different.

Sharon Stone, who co-starred with Crowe in the western The Quick and the Dead, once called him “the sexiest guy working in movies.” But Crowe has never cultivated a screen idol image. He´s more at home on his farm in the Australian bush than at movie premieres. And the 41-year-old actor is perfectly content to be the ultimate outsider in a town where being part of the “in crowd” can make—or break—careers. On and off the movie set, he speaks his mind and does as he pleases without worrying about the consequences. The result? He´s got an outlaw reputation that he doesn´t try very hard to live down.

Crowe has criticized everything from actors pitching products (“You lose all of your integrity as soon as you cross over into that sort of crass commercialism”) to the coverage he´s received in the tabloids (“It´s really been ridiculous”). He´s also been in brawls that sometimes end with police being called. A recent one occurred in June while he was staying at a New York City hotel. Unable to find a phone that worked to make a late-night call home to Australia, Crowe allegedly ripped one out of the wall and threw it at the concierge. Later, Crowe told talk show host David Letterman that this was “possibly the most shameful situation I`ve ever gotten myself in.”

Crowe learned about barroom fights early on. Born in Wellington, New Zealand, he moved with his family to Sydney, Australia, when he was four. His father found work as a manager of various pubs. The family sometimes made their home in the rooms above the bar where his father worked. His parents also worked as caterers, providing food on movie sets, which resulted in Crowe´s introduction to acting when he was just a child.

Although Crowe may rebel against the trappings of stardom, he´s very much a star in terms of talent. He´s considered by many to be one of the finest actors of his generation, and has been compared to Marlon Brando for his ability to bring to life the innermost passions of complex—often emotionally tortured—men. He won the Best Actor Academy Award for his work in Gladiator. And he was nominated again for his work as a mentally ill math genius in A Beautiful Mind.

“Russell is the rarest of actors who has this incredible ability to literally transform himself,” says Ron Howard, who directed Crowe in A Beautiful Mind and in his latest role as boxer James J. Braddock in Cinderella Man. “He trained for a year to make his body more like a fighter´s. By the start of filming, he really looked like Braddock.”

Crowe´s perfectionism has earned him a reputation for being “difficult.” That´s okay, says the actor. “On the set of Gladiator, I didn´t have a very good relationship with the producers,” who couldn´t understand when he wouldn´t relax, he has said. “The reason I wouldn´t was because I knew if I did, in those five minutes something stupid would be in the movie.”

Howard says that “working with Russell is like shooting on a tropical island. You know the weather is going to change. It might look like clouds have rolled in. It might get tense for a second, but the sun will shine.”

The actor´s leading ladies have only praise for Crowe´s fierce devotion to his work. Renée Zellweger, who co-starred with him in Cinderella Man, says Crowe wouldn´t ease up in the film´s fight scenes despite a serious shoulder injury. “Russell shouldn´t have been doing what he was doing,” she says. “But he won´t compromise. He´s tenacious.”

Jennifer Connelly, Crowe´s co-star in A Beautiful Mind, says, “He asks a lot of questions. He puts a lot into what he does.” Connelly recalls their first meeting for a script reading in New York City. “You feel him come into the room. He´s very alive.” After they´d finished for the day, Connelly says, “he was walking me to the elevator and saying, ‘Let my driver take you home.´ Very sweet and attentive.”

Crowe describes himself as “fundamentally shy.” With the exception of his wife and son, few people see his softer side. He was married to Danielle Spencer in April 2003 in a chapel he had renovated especially for the occasion, and he has written and performed songs about his “really strong relationship” with her. And the birth of their son, Charlie, now almost two, has made him a proud dad. Fatherhood, he has said, is “fantastic. My priority list has changed. I´m just ‘Daddy.´”

Still, it´s hard to imagine Russell Crowe completely content about anything. Deep inside the man of many faces—and moods—the fire still burns to keep creating even more unforgettable characters. Acting “is quite a liberating thing to do,” he said earlier this year. “Because within that framework you can go to all these other places.

“And,” he added, “I never found another job I was actually that good at.”

Thanks to Karen