Russell Crowe Is No Hard Man
Russell Crowe The actor has developed a reputation for partying hard and having a bad temper since he shot to fame. Although he has calmed down since he married Danielle Spencer and the couple had two sons, his petulant behaviour in public has continued to attract headlines. Despite being branded a tough character, Russell insists he is a sensitive soul who is in touch with his emotions.
“People build this thing that isn’t real,” he said in an interview for the June issue of the British edition of GQ magazine. “They take the smallest, tiniest increment of truth and expand it to some other place. I am always described as ‘Hollywood Hard Man’. It’s just ridiculous. I know some hard men, mate, and I am not a hard man. I’m a guy who likes poetry, who writes songs. I put on make-up for a living. Give me a break. If I was a hard man. I wouldn’t be any good at my job. That’s assuming that I am good at my job.”
The 46-year-old Oscar-winner insists he has every right to retaliate when he is followed by paparazzi and wants to protect his family from getting hurt. Russell says fame is hard for most people to handle and he is just reacting as anyone else would. The star is also adamant he only uses words to defend himself and his loved ones.
“People try to hang the hell-raiser bulls**t on me but it could not be further from the reality. I have a few nights, as everyone does. And there was certainly a period of time where the impact of fame was something I railed against. I am over that. I don’t know anybody who gets impacted with the Zeitgeist and that level of fame who handles it well,” he explained. “You think it’s OK for me to be fair game. I’m a puppy in a barrel. And you’ve got a shotgun. I’ve got no way of getting out of this barrel. And you’re going to keep firing. So the only thing I can do is use words and that is the natural instinct: to fight. And it’s only ever been words.”