Russell Crowe received an unexpected Christmas "gift" on his flight home to Australia - a seat next to Nicole Kidman.

Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman (c) Twitter

Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman (c) Twitter

The 'Gladiator' star was jetting home Down Under for the festive season and was delighted to board his Qantas flight from Las Angeles and discover he had his 'Boy Erased' co-star for company during the 15-hour trip.

He shared a photo of them together and wrote on Twitter: "Hey @Qantas thanks for getting me home in time for Christmas out of the craziness that is LAX, and thanks for the pure gift of sitting me next to one of my favourite people in the universe."

Nicole was equally delighted to have her old friend with her.

She shared the same photo on Instagram and wrote: "You never know who you'll run into on your way home for Christmas. 30 years of friendship.. and counting."

One fan asked if the stars' fresh faces in the photo meant it had been taken before the flight had taken off.

Russell quipped: "That's how we land. The extra sparkle comes from being on Australian soil."

Meanwhile, Nicole - who has kids Isabella, 26, and Connor, 24, with ex-husband Tom Cruise, as well as Faith, eight, and Sunday, 11, with Keith Urban - recently claimed she wants people to "share their knowledge" with her children.

The acclaimed actress said that she would be "so grateful" if someone with "no agenda" wanted to pass on some knowledge to her brood.

She said: "I've worked now with so many young women, and obviously I'm raising young girls right now. If someone came up to my children and was willing to share their knowledge with no agenda, nothing other than just hoping that they have a great life, and in some way help them, I would be so grateful to them as a mother. So, that's what I try to do."

The 'Bombshell' actress also previously admitted she isn't perfect when it comes to raising her brood - but she thinks there's "no right or wrong way" to parent.

She explained: "Yeah ... I think it's [motherhood] just a journey. And the first thing is there's no right and wrong. There's just different children."