Russell Crowe, the Oscar-winning actor known for his roles in epic films such as Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, and Les Miserables, has surprised his fans with a dramatic makeover. The 58-year-old star has shaved off his silver beard, which he had been sporting for the past five years, for a new role. He revealed his new look on X (formerly Twitter), where he posted a selfie of his clean-shaven face and captioned it: “The actor prepares”.
Crowe’s followers were quick to praise his transformation, with many of them commenting on how much younger he looked without the beard. Some of them even compared him to his younger self, when he played the legendary Roman general Maximus in Gladiator, which earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor in 2001. Others expressed their excitement for his upcoming project, which is reportedly a biopic of the late comedian Bill Hicks.
Crowe has been growing his beard since 2019, when he played the disgraced Fox News chief Roger Ailes in the Showtime miniseries The Loudest Voice. He also kept the beard for his role as a road-rage psychopath in the thriller Unhinged, which was released in 2020. He was last seen with the beard in the historical drama The True History of the Kelly Gang, where he played the notorious Australian bushranger Harry Power.
Crowe is not the only actor who has undergone a drastic change in appearance for a role. Christian Bale, who co-starred with Crowe in the 2007 western 3:10 to Yuma, is famous for his extreme weight fluctuations for different characters. He lost 63 pounds for his role as a chronic insomniac in The Machinist, gained 43 pounds for his role as a con artist in American Hustle, and gained 40 pounds for his role as former US Vice President Dick Cheney in Vice.
Crowe’s fans can expect to see more of his new look in the near future, as he is set to appear in several films in 2024. He will star alongside Zac Efron in the comedy The Greatest Beer Run Ever, based on a true story of a man who traveled to Vietnam to deliver beer to his friends during the war. He will also play a detective in the thriller Poker Face, directed by Gary Fleder. And he will portray the legendary comedian Bill Hicks, who died of pancreatic cancer at the age of 32, in a biopic directed by Richard Linklater.
Crowe’s new look is a testament to his versatility and dedication as an actor, who is willing to transform himself for the sake of his craft. He has proven that he can play any role, from a heroic gladiator to a ruthless media mogul, with equal conviction and charisma. And he has shown that he can still surprise his fans, even after decades of being in the spotlight.
