Russell Crowe said he is happy with where his career stands today, telling reporters in Venice that he feels sorry for fellow actors who work on projects they do not believe in.
The Oscar-winning actor appeared at the Venice Film Festival to present his documentary "What Love Builds," which chronicles his life as a musician and his work with the band Indoor Garden Party. Crowe, who has previously drawn attention for intense outbursts of anger in both his private and public life, appeared calm and reflective at the event, according to Deadline.
At the press conference, Crowe shared his satisfaction with how his career has evolved and said his longevity comes down to keeping a "clear vision" when deciding what to do next.
He said that when he has to get up at 4:30 in the morning for a film shoot, he absolutely needs to know why he is getting up at that hour.
He said he genuinely feels sorry for actors who decide to go to a set while not believing in the subject they are working on or the character they are playing, asking how anyone could motivate themselves at that hour without a fundamental love for what they do. He added that this was why he was pleased with how things were unfolding for him.
Mismanaging Hollywood, to his benefit
Crowe went on to suggest that these choices, along with the freedom he now has in his career, stem in part from what he called his mismanagement of his relationship with Hollywood.
He said he thought he had made it fairly clear that he had mismanaged his relationship with Hollywood, in the way people might expect, but always to his own benefit. He said it had taken people a long time to realize he was not American, because during his first burst of success everyone had simply made a huge assumption about it. He added that he was not motivated by the same things that necessarily motivate people who come from that culture.
A 15-year passion project
"What Love Builds," the documentary that brought Crowe to the festival, is a passion project he has worked on for 15 years, focused on his love of music.
He said his intention had been to answer the question he is probably asked most often, about the difference between music and acting. He said the film tries to explain that, for him, the two are completely connected and come from the same creative source, and that he hoped that after people saw the film he would no longer have to answer that question so often.
Connecting with an audience
Asked whether there was an aspect of performing music that he preferred over acting, Crowe pointed to the connection with an audience.
He said everything he does as a film actor is shaped by knowing how to guide a live audience, even when that audience is not physically in the room. He said he still carries that expectation and understanding of what an audience perceives and takes away from each performance, but that this does not make him some kind of slave to the audience. He said it was simply an awareness that came from his experience in rock and roll and in theatre.
No regrets, even in the dark moments
Crowe was also asked whether, if he could turn back time, he would have chosen to become a famous musician rather than a famous actor.
He said he had simply followed opportunities as they came, without a plan then and without one now. He said he does what seems obvious to him each time and pursues what he genuinely feels connects him. He said he would not want to change anything about the career he has had, adding that even its darkest moments had been extremely instructive.
