Russell Crowe reveals the name of the only actor who managed to distract him throughout his career and he is an actor, also adored, with a very particular sense of humor…
When you think of Russell Crowe, you think of a cool-headed, serious actor who isn’t very likely to burst out laughing on set or lose focus in the middle of a scene… And yet. Yes, everyone ends up, sooner or later, finding that colleague who makes you laugh while you’re trying to do your job with sincerity. And for Russell Crowethis colleague is Ryan Gosling!
As the Gladiator star explained in an interview with GQ, Ryan Gosling was indeed the only co-star who made him break out of character in the middle of a scene – which is understandable considering that the feature film they collaborated on was none other than The Nice Guys (2016), the hilarious ’70s comedy directed by Shane Black. – and if we also take into account the legendary humor of the Barbie actor!
“I loved doing this movie. Ryan Gosling… God. I’m trying to work with that kid. […] There’s something about acting called ‘corpsing’ – laughing inappropriately. This little bastard made me laugh every time.”
Russell Crowe has the reputation of being one of those actors who stays in character no matter what, to the point that Ridley Scott came to make fun of him during the filming of Gladiator.
“I’m famous for not getting out of character no matter what – Ridley [Scott] laughed about it. The Colosseum could collapse behind me [dans Gladiator] and I would continue to do my business“, said the Oscar-winning actor for his role in the 2000 epic.But then you have something like The Nice Guys. People love that movie.”
Warner Bros. Pictures / Bloom
And yet the film almost didn’t get made…
The production of The Nice Guys was rather complicated as the director revealed Shane Black in an interview with IndieWire. Finally, Russell Crowe only joined the cast of the film because Ryan Gosling had agreed to play there.
“My friend Anthony Bagarozzi and I created the script in 2001, which was set in the present day and went nowhere. We tried it again as a series for CBS in 2006 and it didn’t go anywhere either. Finally, in 2014, we tried one last time, Ryan Gosling read it and his agent said, ‘This is what Ryan is looking for.’ Within three days, Russell Crowe said, ‘I like this, and if Ryan does it, I’ll do it.’ It all came together in three days.”
Unfortunately, the release of The Angry Birds Movie ended up surpassing The Nice Guys at the box office. According to Ryan Gosling, the animated film even “destroyed” them, and that would be why one had a sequel and the other did not, despite the rumors of a sequel and the good reviews. It’s too bad.
The Nice Guys is available to (re)discover on VOD.
