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"If you're a waiter, the worst thing you can do is go to work resenting your job. This will sound trite - but it's the reality, and part of my personality - yet when I was a waiter, I tried to be the best waiter, and when I was a bingo-caller I tried to be the best bingo-caller." Russell Crowe understands the value of hard work, and he sees the importance of making sure he's doing the best job no matter what that job is. A lot of people don't recognize why that matters, because they just want to get on with the job they have to do, to get to the one they want to do. Crowe knows that every job matters, and the better he does at one job the better he'll learn to do at all of them. Where did he get this great work ethic, and his start in show business? Read on to find out.

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Growing Up in New Zealand and Australia

Crowe grew up spending a lot of time in Australia, even though he was born in New Zealand. Both of his parents were caterers for film sets, and his father was also a hotel manager. People in his family were already famous to some degree, with a cricket field named after his uncle and a maternal grandfather who was a cinematographer. At four years of age, Crowe moved with his family to Australia, so his parents could pursue their set-catering careers. When Crowe was five or six years of age, he was hired for a single line of dialogue in the TV series Spyforce. He was also briefly in a serial TV show called The Young Doctors. At 14, he moved with his family back to New Zealand, and then left school at 16 to pursue his acting dreams.

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In the early 1980s he started a performing career as a musician. He released several singles under the name Russ Le Roq, and returned to Australia at the age of 21. He wanted to apply to the National Institute of Dramatic Art there, but was told by someone in the business that it would waste his time. In 1986 he was in The Rocky Horror Show, and he stayed there until 1988. Then he started to be cast in other roles, mostly small, in some Australian films and TV shows. Eventually he decided that he would have better luck in the United States, and he made the move to further his acting career. Since he already had acting and musical credits, he had an easier time getting into the business in the US than he would have if he would have been completely unknown.

Music and Philanthropy Plus an Acting Career

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About his adventures in life, Crowe has said, "I really feel sorry for people who are, who divide their whole life up into 'things that I like' and 'things that I must do.' You're only here for a short time, mate. Learn to like it." He's not wrong, in the sense that people with a positive attitude often get further in life and seem to enjoy it much more. Crowe's positive outlook on things may have contributed to his ability to get roles, but it was his talent that kept him there. His breakout role was in Gladiator (2000), which is the first thing many American audiences remember him from. In that role he received a lot of new fans and plenty of critical acclaim, which helped him land further roles in the acting community and make his mark in Hollywood.

Even though Crowe still acts in films and TV shows, he also spends a lot of his time on projects that matter to him. He's a philanthropist, and focused on causes that he finds important. He's also focused on family, and lives in Australia. Crowe married girlfriend Danielle Spencer in 2003, and the couple had two children together. They divorced in 2018. While Crowe has somewhat of a reputation for a quick temper, he's continued to work well with directors and other actors both on and off the set. His ability to get work hasn't been hindered, and his critical acclaim and fan base haven't suffered.

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Crowe frequently donates to causes he finds important, and to charities that matter to him. Many of his donations have gone to schools where vandalism has occured or where there hasn't been enough money for supplies for all the students. He also paid to have a swimming pool put in at a local elementary school to help students learn to swim after one student drowned at a nearby beach. It's clear that he cares deeply about helping children, and it's also likely that fans haven't seen the last of what he can offer on the screen, as well.