Aussie actors bag top roles in gritty cop film

By LOUIS B. HOBSON -- Calgary Sun
Tuesday, September 16, 1997

TORONTO -- The down-home, Down Under boys have their sights on Hollywood.

In the gritty crime thriller L.A. Confidential - which opens Friday in Edmonton - Aussies Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce play feuding 1950s Los Angeles detectives working on the same blood-drenched murder case.

Director Curtis Hanson insists it's a coincidence that the film's lead characters are both from Australia.

"When I saw Russell Crowe playing a hateful skinhead in Romper Stomper, I was blown away. I figured he had to be that character or an incredibly talented actor.

"My only concern about casting Russell in L.A. Confidential was I didn't know if he could play the child inside the brute. His detective in L.A. Confidential is a physical macho character but he also has a true, warm heart."

After working with Crowe, Hanson discovered the star of such American films as The Quick and the Dead and Virtuosity is "a charming man. He's also rough and moody and definitely not the easiest person to get to know."

Crowe was a huge star in Australia when Sharon Stone brought him to America to play her love interest in The Quick and the Dead.

"Russell was disappointed that his American films weren't well received so he was a bit hesitant to come back. Once he read the script for L.A. Confidential, it didn't take any coaxing at all," says Curtis.

Crowe admits "it took a bit of adjusting when I came to Hollywood. In Australia I was at the top of the pile. In America I'm one notch up above the guy who parks your car in Beverly Hills."

He insists he didn't leave Australia with too high expectations so he says he "wasn't that disappointed when things didn't happen for me.

"It took five films for me to finally make a good movie. I wish L.A. Confidential was my first U.S. movie."

After he completes his publicity tour for L.A. Confidential, Crowe is heading back to Australia.

"I now have this farm about eight hours north of Sydney. I moved my parents and my brother in with me so it's a great retreat for me between gigs."

Crowe says he's a disgrace to his neighbors.

"I'm a farmer's nightmare. I get too attached to the animals on our farm. Once I've befriended them, I find it difficult to eat them."

Playing Crowe's reluctant partner in L.A. Confidential is fellow Aussie Guy Pearce.

American audiences know Pearce as the outrageous drag queen in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert but in Australia he's famous as one of the sexy stars of the long-running soap Neighbors and of the currently Aussie miniseries The Man From Snowy River.

"I'm basically a TV and musical theatre star in Australia so I was really grateful to get L.A. Confidential," says Pearce.

Priscilla was Pearce's first big Australian film. His managers tried to dissuade him from playing a drag queen.

"They warned me that if the film didn't work, it could be really bad for my career. I wanted to show everyone in the business that I had some versatility."

Immediately after Priscilla, Pearce spent a year touring Australia in a production of Grease.

"I love music and I still write a lot of songs but musical theatre is no longer the route I want to take. I learned with L.A. Confidential that it's possible for me to work in the U.S. and that's a big part of my career game plan."

Pearce got married six months ago. He and his wife live in a quiet neighborhood of Melbourne with their two cats.

"My wife is studying natural medicine and herbs. She's trying them all out on me. It's a bit of an adventure."