Australia's bad boy conquers Hollywood. In "the Insider" Russell Crowe tangles with a powerful American tobacco-manufacturer. In "Gladiator" he takes revenge on a corrupt emperor who reduced him from general to slave and sold him to the arena.

Russell Crowe is balancing his Armani-dressed ass on the thin rail at the roof of the Beverly Hilton Hotel. He is holding a beer-bottle - not his first this evening - hurling unintelligible abuse in the direction of Jodie Foster, but not at her. Foster - also in Armani - is Russell's new best friend, at closer sight a rather strange combination. Foster is drinking vodka to keep up with Crowe's alcohol level. It is the night of the "Golden Globes" and Crowe is pissed. Not because he lost - winner Kevin Spacey and also Denzel Washington were way ahead - but because of Ralph, chief of the hotel's security, who is about to arrest two of Crowe's "mates" from Sydney who just had the great idea to pee of the hotel's roof. Only thanks to Foster's half-drunk charm the evening ended without handcuffs and scandals.

Russell Crowe, 36, is one of the most talented imports of the American [sic] film-industry. Worlds lie between his touching portrayal of big-tobacco-employee Jeffrey Wigand in Michael Mann's "The Insider" and his powerful acting of the title-role in Ridley Scott's "Gladiator" - worlds the New Zealand-born and Australian-bred actor bridges in superior style. What a scale of expressions, what a remarkable ability to express emotions.

But Russell Crowe is also a real bastard. At home "down under" he is known as an aggressive alcoholic who only last month - once again - beat up a punter at a bar. His reputation is known in Hollywood as well - highly talented, but totally out of control. Hollywood has a new "bad boy" but his one will not make any excuses.

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