Joshua Mooney
c. Entertainment News Wire

LOS ANGELES - Actor Russell Crowe suggests, as pleasantly as possible, that he doesn't much enjoy the process of promoting a movie. Weeks of interviews have simply run down the star of the Roman-era action epic ``Gladiator.''

``It's all about sitting around, chin-wagging and blabbing about the same thing over and over,'' he says with a sigh.

But Crowe, 36, is not likely to get relief from the grind any time soon. Since his breakthrough Hollywood performance as a tough cop in the acclaimed 1997 drama ``L.A. Confidential,'' Crowe has been moving steadily toward real stardom.

The New Zealand-born actor, now based in Australia, won an Oscar nomination for his compelling lead performance in last year's reality-based tobacco-industry drama ``The Insider.'' His latest film, ``Gladiator,'' is an old-fashioned adventure that could put him in the pantheon of A-list stars for good.

Crowe plays the title character, a Roman general who's forced to defend his honor and his life when he goes against a corrupt emperor. Audiences who came to know Crowe through his performance as the paunchy, middle-aged Dr. Jeffrey Wigand in ``The Insider'' will probably be startled by his transformation in this film. As ``Gladiator's'' lean, mean fighting machine, Crowe exudes the swagger and charisma of another Hollywood star with Australian roots - Mel Gibson.

From his Oscar nomination to the impending release of ``Gladiator,'' Crowe's life has changed significantly in a short time.

``I'm the king of frequent flyer miles now,'' he says in a pronounced Australian accent. ``And I don't get to spend enough time with the people I love in the place that I love.''

Crowe's home is a huge ranch in Australia. But there's ``a certain level of the gypsy in the job,'' he says. And he's been making movies for long enough, about decade, that he's used to the disruption in his lifestyle.

While Crowe watched Kevin Spacey pick up this year's best actor Oscar, it's unlikely he'll spend the future fading into the woodwork as an Oscar also-ran. There's already talk of another best actor nomination next year for ``Gladiator.'' And the early buzz on the film portends big box-office success as well.

There's a bit of luck involved in ``Gladiator's'' coming out while ``The Insider'' is still fresh in the memories of filmgoers. But Crowe adds that he had something to do with the film's timing as well. He's ``proactive'' in his career choices, he says, and that includes his work on ``Gladiator.''

According to Crowe, when the ``Gladiator'' producers approached him with the project, they admitted they didn't have a script they thought would impress him. What they had, he says, was a concept and director Ridley Scott (''Alien,'' ``Blade Runner''). Crowe says the producers put it this way: ``Ridley Scott - 185 AD - you start the movie as a Roman general. Do you want to talk to Ridley?''

He did indeed. But eventually agreeing to star in the film required a ``leap of faith,'' he says. He had to believe that he, the studio (DreamWorks Pictures), the producers, Scott and the other actors would be able to come up with a script and a movie that worked.

Crowe's faith was rewarded. He calls the movie ``a grand collaboration.'' ``Gladiator'' is also earning praise from critics who are saying the film recalls such previous swords-and-sandals spectacles as ``Spartacus'' and ``Ben-Hur,'' along with more recent stories such as ``Braveheart.''

Director Scott brings his distinctive style to ancient Rome. His recreation of the second century is an astounding melding of production design and cutting-edge computer technology. As a result, the Roman Empire has never seemed more alive on-screen.

``Gladiator'' is a classic story of a hero's fall from glory and ultimate redemption. Crowe's General Maximus begins the film as a successful leader of Roman legions and a warrior of heroic stature. But, after running afoul of the new emperor, he's stripped of his powers, his home and his family and reduced to slave status. In order to survive. Maximus must battle everything from tigers to soldiers in the amphitheaters and coliseums of the empire. It's entertainment, Roman style. And it makes the WWF look like a debutante ball.

To get into the mindset of Maximus - a rather impressive 180-degree turn from ``The Insider's'' Dr. Wigand - Crowe says he filled his head with ``things I thought Maximus would know - like the structure of the military and a certain dexterity with weaponry.'' Crowe also researched life in ancient Rome. ``There's a book called `A Day in the Life of Rome,' which is fascinating,'' he says. ``It covers everything from systems of banking to social graces.''

Crowe considers himself lucky to play a character who, while fictional, is associated with the historical Roman emperor and philosopher Marcus Aurelius. A disciple of the Stoic philosophy, Marcus Aurelius authored the classic book ``Mediations,'' which has survived through the centuries. Crowe says he read it devoutly, employing it in his character's development and even in the film's dialogue. ``It's a great thing that the historical figure Marcus left this book for me to learn from,'' he says with a laugh.

In the early 1990s, Crowe began winning Australian acting awards for films like ``Romper Stomper,'' in which he gave a menacing performance as a neo-Nazi skinhead. He also developed a reputation as a man with a temper - a brash young guy who spoke his mind. He was called arrogant. And, he acknowledges, the label stuck.

``It's funny,'' Crowe says, ``but I get accused of being arrogant by some people because I seem to have, in some people's viewpoints, expected success. But it doesn't surprise me when [success] comes. Because I know how much work I've put into what I do.''

Rubbing some people the wrong way might be inevitable for Crowe, who wants to do things his way. His goal? ``To act, the highest level in the art form I've chosen to work in.'' That also means more interviews and more frequent-flier miles on the long journeys between Australia and Hollywood. All of which is fine with Crowe.

``Look at the people I'm getting to work with, and the experiences I'm having, and the diversity of characters I'm getting to play,'' he says. ``I don't have any complaints.''