PREACH IT! Which is hotter, Russell Crowe's face, or his temper? [Poll] [Updated]

Recently one of my readers wrote in to ask me if I thought Russell Crowe had finally mellowed out. You know, given up on the phone throwing and the cussing and the general scrumming.

The answer? Not so much.

Many inconveniences have set off Crowe in the past, including a hotel concierge who once declined to help him make a phone call. Now we may add another flashpoint to that list: telling Crowe he sounds Irish.

During an interview with the BBC, journalist Mark Lawson -- who certainly knows more about British regional accents than Australian-by-way-of-New Zealand Crowe -- noted that the actor sounds a bit Irish in his new film, about the legendary English hero Robin Hood.

"You've got dead ears, mate, seriously dead ears if you think there's an Irish accent," Crowe snapped.

Lawson responded by asking if Crowe had been trying for a "Northern English" inflection instead. Crowe retorted, "No, I was going for an Italian, yeah. Missed it?" The sarcasm was followed ...

... by a signature Crowe expletive.

Lawson then wisely changed the subject. He asked Crowe about a new report saying the actor didn't want to deliver the famous "Gladiator" line, "And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.” But by this point Crowe had decided that the interview was beneath him and stormed out, saying, "I don't get the Irish thing, by the way."

Apparently Crowe still hasn't gotten the whole anger management thing either. As fun as it might be to take this whole story to the next level -- in a fair fight, who would win: Naomi Campbell with a mace or Russell Crowe with a crossbow? -- Crowe's nasty demeanor is starting to get in the way of our movie-going fun.

Yes, he's an actor, and a movie is just a movie, but it can be tough to suspend one's disbelief and go along with the whole robbing-the-rich-giving-to-the-poor thing when the guy who plays him clearly has such contempt for little people. Your more sanctimonious movie fan loves to wax forth about how the more enlightened among us know how to leave an actor's real-life tantrums behind when choosing our entertainment.

But the truth is, it's my money, and I may or may not have piracy software, and I just don’t feel like contributing any cash to a self-entitled, overgrown brat.

Which brings us to our inevitable poll! 

-- Leslie Gornstein

[Corrected at 11:50 p.m.: An earlier version of this post misquoted the line from "Gladiator" as "I'll take my revenge, in this life or the next." The line is "And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next." Thanks to commenter Heisenberg for pointing out that we had erred, and for getting the quote almost right as well.//cdz]

Top photo: Peace, really? French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand, left, looks as if he's not 100% believing the gesture as Russell Crowe and wife Danielle Spencer hit the red carpet for "Robin Hood" in Cannes on May 12, 2010. Credit: Francois Guillot / AFP / Getty Images. 

Second photo: Now that's more like it -- playing to his, ahem, strengths, Crowe won an Oscar for his performance in the 2000 film "Gladiator." Credit: Associated Press. 

Related dispatches from the Ministry of Gossip:

Bum knee keeps Ridley Scott from Cannes premiere of 'Robin Hood'

Russell Crowe gets his star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame

Don't ask 'Robin Hood's' Russell Crowe about wearing tights

PREACH IT! Naomi Campbell strikes again -- literally

PREACH IT! Is your family prepared in case of a Naomi Campbell attack?

Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott. The new 'Robin Hood' trailer. The Ministry can die happy.

Click and scroll down to experience the dishy goodness of the Preach It! archives. Want the headlines? Follow the Ministry of Gossip on Twitter (we're @LATcelebs) or swing by our Facebook page and 'like' us right into your news feed.

Comments

[AH]

Obviously, you have the right to use your money as you see fit; however, it is hard to get upset at Crowe losing his temper when one hears the stupid questions that actors generally get from some "journalists."

[sophie]

He has a right to be annoyed, but to carry to that length is just childish. And arrogant. Obviously the BBC does not employ fawning Access Hollywood type "journalists." I don't think it was a stupid question. Just a keen observation, which was a bit too close to the ego. LOL. 100% with you Leslie.

[moviefan]

Unlike most people repeating this 'big' story, I listened to the interview. There was no 'rage', no 'storming out'. Crowe may have gotten a little testy but Telegraph.uk columnist Andrew Young has even admitted some of Lawson’s questions were needling.

Listen, I’ve been watching Crowe do press for a solid month, since his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremoney in April. He’s flown from Oz to the US to Europe back to US back to Europe. I’ve seen and heard hundreds of these little video/audio interviews and this is the first one I’ve seen where he hasn’t absolutely been charming, witty, and in very good humor. The whole accent thing did seem to put him off with Lawson but he still answered all until the Gladiator question with thoughtful answers.

I’d suggest going to view or read about some of the hundreds of interviews Crowe has done in the past month before you continue the same old tired stories about him.

[Kasi]

What is Crowe's problem? It isn't his accent that is Irish, its his rad behavior. His tantrums are childish, borish, and frankly, a bit explosive, ala IRA-ish! I wonder if movie viewers will even care. Its not like he's running for office, or anything important like that. He's a movie star, and he feels entitled to his diva dramas. I went to a concert of his in New Jersey when he and his band were touring the US and he was constantly telling his fans where to f*** off and his fans loved the abuse. He gets off on this sort of thing, and because he is so bankable as a leading male film actor, his pathology, which we feed into generously with our patronage, will only get worse with age

[Heisenberg]

It's "I'll HAVE my revenge," not "I'll 'take' my revenge."

Guess the line isn't "famous" enough for you to properly cite it!

[CDZ from the Ministry]

@Heisenberg -- Christie D'Zurilla here from the blog. Thanks for noting the misquote. Turns out neither our first version nor yours was correct. It's been fixed in the post; thanks for the catch.

//cdz

[Cisco]

I bet Russ and Sean Penn get along just fine and have so much in common...they hate journalists!

[jackie]

I heard the Lawson interview and you're really overstating what happened. Lawson was definitely needling Crowe and eventually, Crowe stood up and left. There was no explosive temper or storming out. Lawson knew perfectly well he was being rude. It's too bad Crowe allowed him to bother him, because as we can see, the press is skewering the actor, but I don't see why journalists think they can behave rudely, crassly and other variations of badly behaved and any reaction is the subject's fault.

[cinnamon barks]

I applaud a man who doesn't suffer fools (and their foolish questions) gladly. Maybe it wouldn't be called the Lamestream Media if journos were as respectful as technical writers.

[Judy]

Your account of Crowe's exchange with the "journalist" is grossly misrepresented. It is available for listening on the internet, and you've obviously either not made an effort to research your subject, or don't care about the truth of the matter at all.
I find that much more deplorable than an actor's snippy response to being baited at a press conference.

[Chrissy]

The fact that Russell seems to have a nice family, two children he adores, long-time friends, and an extended network of people who love him, speaks more to me than the articles I read about him. It seems as if this man is "hounded" or somehow "picked -out" from the crowd, just to see if they CAN push his buttons. It has been over a decade now, since we (in America) started watching him........makes me feel sad, that the man who is a GREAT actor, is still treated this way. Maybe it is someone else who has issues, and not him............Russell Crowe has given us (the public) some of the best movies and performances we have seen, is it not time to cut him a little slack??

[chocobosandwich]

Yes. Very good. An overgrown brat who likes to steal versus an overgrown brat who likes to brawl. You go download that movie.