Hardened Hack Russell Crowe

18 April 2009

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Russell Crowe is the first to admit he has a lot of be thankful for - but he never imagined he would be glad to be uglier than Brad Pitt.

The 45-year-old actor was facing a long summer of unemployment when Pitt walked out of new thriller 'State of Play' a week before filming was due to start because he didn't like the new script.

Within 24 hours, the film's director Kevin Macdonald was on the phone to Crowe, offering him the lead role - because he wasn't as handsome as pretty-boy Pitt.

After making Macdonald sweat for a few days - and fly to Australia to hand-deliver the script - Crowe agreed to play Cal McAffrey, a hard-drinking journalist who finds himself trying to solve the mysterious murder of a politician's mistress.

Filming began the next month and Macdonald was soon convinced Crowe had always been perfect for the part.

He said: "In a way, I was lucky it didn't work out with Brad. The relationship between the journalist and the politician was meant to be between somebody who feels inferior, who's a bit of a schlump, who kind of can't get a girlfriend, and somebody he's looking up to and admires - his polished politician friend.

"That is not the dynamic of a Brad Pitt. He's not looking up to anyone thinking, 'Oh, I wish I could have your girlfriend.' "

Crowe, on the other hand, was the perfect mix of disheveled hair, thick stubble and rugged good looks.

Macdonald said: "Obviously, I would say that, but I genuinely believe we ended up with the right actor. I think Brad and I both knew he wasn't right for the part.

"It was like trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. Cal is a damaged, slightly pathetic individual, and it's hard to imagine Brad being that. Russell is far better suited to the role."

Based on a BBC mini-series of the same name, 'State of Play' is set in the newsroom of fictional newspaper The Washington Globe.

It tells the story of Stephen Collins (Ben Affleck), a US congressman whose presidential ambitions are threatened when his mistress is found dead in suspicious circumstances.

Ruthless newspaper editor Cameron Lynne (Helen Mirren) forces Crowe's character to team up with blogger-turned-junior political report Della Frye (Rachel McAdams) to investigate the murder.

Before long, they come across Dominic Foy (Jason Bateman), a drug-addicted, bisexual fetish club promoter whose shocking revelations leave Cal and Della stunned and running for their lives.

That is not the dynamic of a Brad Pitt. He's not looking up to anyone thinking, 'Oh, I wish I could have your girlfriend.'

To prepare for the film, the cast spent weeks in the Washington Post newsroom, talking shop with political reporters and editors.

It was a tiring and eye-opening experience that left Affleck vowing to treat journalists with more respect in the future.

He said: "I definitely got a more full understanding of the pressures journalists face. My previous conversations with journalists were all one-sided. Even though I wasn't playing a journalist, the story is about empathising with a guy who is a journalist.

"I now realise that journalists are ambitious and competing with each other inside institutions and that the institutions themselves have to compete with one another to stay afloat.

"I never understood those dynamics very well, so I've gained an appreciation for that, and it changed the way I saw things."

McAdams also found the work experience difficult, but enlightening.

She said: "It was pretty fun but the journalists were very tricky. They would turn the questions around, and I would have to keep saying 'No, this isn't about me - this is about you.' That's their job, and they're doing it 24/7."

Before long, the 30-year-old actress found herself empathising with the reporters - even though they spent their days trying to trick her into revealing juicy details about her private life.

She said: "Some people, especially in Washington, talk about not being able to reveal their sources and making some really difficult decisions sometimes, when you know people's reputations or their lives are on the line.

"They're dealing with the law and they're dealing with politicians and I think it can get kind of heavy-duty. My character realises that it's hard to be objective and be a great reporter. I think she realises that things aren't so straightforward and that it's hard to have a sexy story and tell the truth.

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