‘I Will Kill You with My Bare Hands,’ Russell Crowe Threatened Producer

Throughout the years and ever since Russell Crowe won over even the most skeptic of critics, much has been said and written about his flaming temper and alleged tantrums on set and on public outings. A book that will see the light of day on May 4, called “The Man Who Would Be King: An Almost Epic Tale of Moguls, Movies, and a Company called DreamWorks” by Nicole LaPorte, will offer specifics on said tantrums, Gawker says, offering a few excerpts from it as well.

In one episode, for instance, Crowe got so enraged with one of the producers on “Gladiator” that he called him up in the dead of the night to tell him that he’d personally see to his demise – with his bare hands nonetheless. Apparently, it eventually turned out to be just a misunderstanding, with Crowe thinking that DreamWorks was refusing to pay the per diem of his assistants, which was clearly not the case.

“‘You mother[expletive]. I will kill you with my bare hands.’ ‘Hello?’ Branko Lustig said, confused and barely awake; it was, after all, 3 a.m. in England. ‘You mother[expletive],’ the speaker repeated. ‘Who’s on the phone? Who is this?’ Lustig demanded. When Russell Crowe identified himself, the genuinely terrified Lustig, one of the producers of the about-to-be-filmed Gladiator, hung up and called Steven Spielberg in Los Angeles. ‘Steven,’ he said. ‘I’m leaving. Russell wants to kill me. I’m leaving’,” reads one excerpt of the book.

Sadly, this was not the only tantrum thrown while working on the Oscar-winning film, as he did the same until the last day of production. Another memorable fit was when everybody was getting ready to star shooting the “And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next,” which, though deemed one of the strongest in the film, struck Russell as lame and forced. In fact, he thought so little of the scene that he initially refused to do it altogether – and was only convinced after a long while of pleading.

“Scott was one of the few people who seemed to understand Crowe, that underneath all that volatility was a very scared actor who needed to feel safe. Rather than blow up at him, Scott waited until the tantrum subsided. Then he agreed to shoot the scene the way Crowe preferred. After doing the take, Crowe still looked dissatisfied. ‘Let me see the other script again,’ he said to Scott, referring to the loathed revision. After studying the page stonily, he shrugged. ‘Well, we might as well try it.’ And so, the scene was reshot. Everyone agreed it was brilliant. Everyone, that is, but Crowe. ‘Russell, what’s the problem?’ Scott asked, finally showing a hint of exasperation. ‘It worked.’ ‘It was [expletive],’ Crowe repeated, ‘but I’m the greatest actor in the world and I can make even [expletive] sound good.’ And with that he marched off,” the book reads.

Coincidence or not, the tell-all book comes out before the release of Russell Crowe’s latest film, also a collaboration with director Ridley Scott, “Robin Hood.” “Robin” is in US theaters on May 14.