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“For me, that was the most attractive and revealing aspect of this character – the tough authoritative figure who had this within him.”
To this end, Crowe took violin lessons among much boot camp training to get fitter and discover his sea legs. “The violin was the toughest part of any role I’ve had,” he says. “You can forget fights with tigers, helicopter stunts or gun battles. Nothing has been more difficult than playing that instrument.
“I could not pretend to be a violinist until I knew that I could make a beautiful sound. So I had between 18 and 25 hours a week of practice over a num- ber of months with three differ- ent teachers.
“It showed that there was fine- ness and art to Jack, which came out in his performance playing the violin – a very delicate and gorgeous tone. I can’t claim that you only hear my efforts. But if you watch my fingers and bowing technique of the time, with no chin guard or shoulder rest, it is 100 per cent accurate.”
Crowe always goes to great lengths for such reality. He even piled on the pounds again – as he did for A Beautiful Mind – reaching around 15 stone. “The books have Aubrey ranging between 14 and 17 stone,” he says. “I was going to be larger at one point, but held back.
“Peter decided that he want- ed to see Jack being completely physically capable. And he was not sure that my frame, at 17 stone, would have been as nim-
ble footed on the boat as he wanted him to be. Gaining weight is easy – you sit in one place and eat a lot. Not so good taking it off, though.”
Crowe also has his new wife, Danielle, to consider. She is preg- nant – a son, expected in January, is revealed on scans – and there will be a shift in lifestyle and working pattern. “Over the next five years, I will probably work even more,” he says.
“He will not understand the dif- ference between a room in Berlin or Stockholm or a room in Australia. So the three of us can travel together. But, after that, when he starts school, I will definitely have a different attitude. We will examine that when it happens.”
Crowe has always been highly adaptable, through launching himself as a rock n’ roller, Rus Le Roc, to Aussie films like The Crossing and Romper Stomper to Sharon Stone’s insistence that he co-star in The Quick and the Dead. Then came his role as Bud White in LA Confidential and proof that he could deliver a big punch on the international market.
He does not mince words about his thoughts on Hollywood, while still resident on his farm in New South Wales, Australia. ”I like certain parts of America and there’s plenty of places where I’d take my boots off, no problem,” he says.
“But I think it’s really unhealthy to live in Los Angeles, full time. It is kind of fun these days to pop in and see these freaks and leave it at that.” He throws in another remark for good measure, when
we talk, briefly, about rugby. “I’ve been trying to watch it on televi- sion over here,” he says, “but it’s such a heathen country.”
His formula for dealing with hype seems as straightforward as the rest of him. “I’ve got to keep my life apart from Hollywood, mate,” he says. “I am committed to acting and get great satisfac- tion from it. But I don’t take it too seriously and realise that it is not rocket science.”
So how has Crowe got this far? He was born in Wellington, New Zealand, moved to Sydney with his parents, who managed pubs, at the age of four and started acting as an extra, aged six, on a television show for which his moth- er, Jocelyn, was the caterer.
He dropped out of high school in his final year to launch himself as a pop star and even now, plays and sings for his rock band, Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts. Other jobs so far include street busker, waiter, insurance salesman, fruit picker and bingo caller.
In between, there were per- formances in musical theatre: Grease, The Rocky Horror Show and Blood Brothers. He discov- ered that he could act with the best, almost by accident.
”From my early twenties and first professional musical, when there was some acting stuff required, I realised I was good at it,” he says. “I am a virtuoso in my job in that I can go into a scene with any actor and be absolutely confident that, whatever is required of my charac- ter, I can do.”
It came in as useful on Master And Commander as any other
role. He was faced with delivering an English accent, based on research into the Dorset dialect of Aubrey and his father’s army background. There was also an exclusively male cast.
“The important thing is to make sure that the blokes are happy,” he says. “I go to great lengths to build up a team spirit, whether it was organising a weekend when we swam with dolphins or playing weekly rugby matches.
“I have been on film sets in which there has been a lot of backbiting. But if you’ve got the guys on your side, then they will be with you when the hours get long and it all starts to get tough.
“I like to think that if you look after the details and care for people, then the big things will look after themselves.”
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