Top 122 Quotes & Sayings by Russell Crowe - Page 2

My kids are being raised in a much more affluent environment than was mine. My wife and I talk about that all the time because neither of us had this kind of experience.

I suppose 'Gladiator' could be a Western - if you were writing your review in Athens, that is! To be honest, we didn't really think that way at the time. But there is common ground. And they both have horses - I liked that, obviously.

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.

'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.

I have a passion for music, and I enjoy the process of expressing myself within the parameters of a pop song, and I don't do it to seek anybody's approval, necessarily. Obviously, you go on stage, and you enjoy it when people respond to a particular song, but the overall concept of playing music I do for myself.

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

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.

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.

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."

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

From an over-arching point-of-view, in war there is heroism on both sides. Obviously, the victor gets the spoils, the victor gets to write history, but there's heroism and compassion on both sides, and to me that's very important.

Even though Noah is in the Koran as well. But we knew going into this project that you can't make stories or render images about the Prophet. But I do believe people are missing out if they don't have the choice to see this film.

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.

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.

If I'm creating the composition, it's easier for me as an actor because I've just cut out the middle man. Because I've created the composition and now I'm in it, I already know exactly what I want to get out of it. So, bang!

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

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

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

To be honest, when you're younger and cooler, you say those sort of things don't mean anything, but then on the day when they pat you on the back and they say, "Look, mate, we're noticing what you're doing-thanks very much;' you think of the people who spent a life in the cinema and didn't receive that kind of accolade, and it's sort of a humbling experience. And it's very nice and all that. But it doesn't change the way I do things.

I think if there's some kind of crisis in news journalism... a crisis of credibility, then it's been created by journalists. I'm empathetic, I understand it and I see it, but I'm not sympathetic about it. If you want people to think of journalism with higher regard then do better work.

I never looked at Noah as an animal collector. I always thought of him as an apocalyptic character. I read everything I found about it and was surprised to find that in all religions there is the story of the flood, and that one "hero" saved the world. This proved that Noah and his Ark - were not a religious myth, and is evidence that humanity really went through the flood.

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

Even bad men love their mommas.

Perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart.

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 am a man that has a lot of respect for faith and spirituality. I think it is important that we talk about religion in today's world.

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

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

I've always found it to be a privilege to make movies. It's a really expensive, creative medium. And people allow me to do it, and there are things that I can do as an actor that I couldn't do in any other walk of life.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

On Sharon Stone (Quick and the Dead): 'She was instrumental about me getting my first American job. Absolutely, without her support, it would not have happened. At the same time, however, was it really about me or her wanting to flex her producerial muscles? I don't want to sound ungallant about the situation. But I didn't find that in working with her, that we clicked on any other level.

I read the bible often, not just to prepare for "Noah". I believe it is a very important book.

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

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.

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

'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.'

When you're heading into Anzac cove you are going into this battle situation staring into the sun. So, any movement in that water, any glint is going to be seen for miles away. Even in the first rays of dawn, there's nowhere to hide.

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!

My bottom line is that I think Ridley Scott is one of the greatest visual artists of our time and I feel very privileged that he wants to work with me, so I go with that flow.

Nobody wants zealotry in a police force, you know? You do want to know that the guy who's got that badge, is confident enough to judge a certain level of benign corruption. Like a man steals some food to feed his starving children.

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.

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.

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.

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

I have a new horse. I get her to come to me from half a mile away. With just a simple call. That's because she knows that when she's with me, she's taken care of. She trusts me.

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.

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

Brothers, what we do in life........echoes in eternity.

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.

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 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.

Sport for me is about inspiring kids. Here's the rules, here's the play area, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. This is all about teaching kids how to approach life. If we're not playing sport to benefit kids, I'm not really sure why we play sport.

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 cheque in the right place and shutting up about it.

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.

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.