In the early 2000s, Russell Crowe was one of Hollywood’s biggest stars. Crowe began working in American feature films throughout the 1990s, appearing in films like “Virtuosity” and “The Quick and the Dead.” He really came to prominence in 1997 when he appeared as tough guy Bud White in Curtis Hanson’s “LA Confidential.” Crowe received his first Oscar nomination in 1999 for his performance in “The Insider,” and he won an Oscar for playing the title fighter in Ridley Scott’s epic “Gladiator” in 2000. Not to be outdone, he was nominated again in 2001 for playing real-life mathematician John Nash in Ron Howard’s “A Beautiful Mind.” Crowe stood astride the Earth like a mighty colossus.
Subsequently, Crowe appeared to carefully select mostly prestige pictures that allowed him to develop as an actor. In 2003, he played Captain Jack Aubrey in Peter Weir’s excellent historical war film, “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World”. In 2005, he teamed up with Howard to make the boxing biopic “Cinderella Man.” In 2006, he teamed up again with Ridley Scott to direct the romantic drama “A Good Year”. He had people he loved working with and knew what kind of performances he wanted to give. He had earned the right to be picky and to say “no” to projects he didn’t want.
Although he turned down a biopic that would ultimately win multiple Oscars. In the mid-2000s, Crowe was approached to play Johnny Cash in James Mangold’s hit film, “Walk the Line.” The role ultimately went to Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix. In 2019, Crowe admitted on the radio show “Fitzy and Wippa” (as covered by Australian News) that he regretted turning down the role. He might have succeeded in achieving that.
Russell Crowe refused to play Johnny Cash in Walk the Line
It turns out that Crowe was initially very excited to be offered the role of Johnny Cash. Like so many others, he was a fan of Johnny Cash and had a certain flair for singing, having played in his band, 30-Odd Foot of Grunts. He turned down the role because he felt he would have profited too much from Cash’s fame. Perhaps he thought that if he performed Cash’s songs in Cash’s style, it would be the public’s enduring affection for the music that would garner him praise, not his originality or talent. On this subject, Crowe said:
“It was one of those funny things with an internal morality, it was like, ‘This is a dream job for me.’ […] I had been playing and singing Johnny Cash songs since I was a little boy. But I felt like then I was going to get things that I didn’t deserve, that I would be climbing on Johnny Cash’s back to get Grammy nominations or something, it just felt wrong. I know from personal experience that [Joaquin Phoenix] is one of the greatest actors in the world, so the fact that he did an incredible job doesn’t surprise me at all.”
It made sense to him at the time. But when he finally saw the full version of “Walk the Line,” Crowe felt enormous regret. He may have loved Phoenix, but he also wanted to be up there on screen. He said with nostalgia:
“[F]from the first notes… when the soundtrack starts, the stab in my heart begins. Oh my God, not only did I want to make the movie, but it was the exact version of the movie that I wanted to make.”
That’s life. So it goes.
