Friday 16th June 2000

Russell Crowe's hard-man image in Gladiator has been dealt a blow after it was claimed that he demanded specially-made lightweight armour during filming because normal armour was too heavy.

Other members of the cast still had to wear the much heavier costumes.

The Daily Express quotes a source at the Globe Theatre, London, who says: "Our armoury supplied a lot of the armour for the film.

"Everyone was happy with what we gave them except Russell Crowe who claimed it was too heavy for him to move around properly. He had special, lightweight, padded armour made-to-measure.

"We were all very amused to see the reviews which raved about his new tough-guy image because we all knew better - he's not really as tough as he seems on screen. In fact, he's a bit of a wimp."

New Zealand-born Crowe has been tipped by many critics for an Oscar for his role as Maximus in the film.

A member of the Gladiator film crew said: "Russell will be a bit embarrased that this has got out because he prides himself on his painstaking method-acting approach to his work. But I'm sure he'll see the funny side."