But what Russell Crowe really wants to do is direct.
The "Gladiator" star took his first step into leading man status with his role as Bud White in "L.A. Confidential," which was based on a novel by James Ellroy. Now, Crowe might be returning to Ellroy territory for his directorial debut, according to Deadline.
Crowe is eyeing "77," a '70s-set cop drama, as both a directing and starring vehicle for himself. The script connects two stories from 1974: the unsolved murder of an LAPD officer and the nationally televised shootout in South Central L.A. between the Symbionese Liberation Army and the LAPD.
James Ellroy, who's made a name for himself with his hardboiled L.A. crime novels such as "The Black Dahlia" and "American Tabloid," was commissioned in 2001 to write the original screenplay, though it was eventually completed by someone else and has since gone through many hands. The latest draft is by David Matthews, who is not the same guy as the one who has a band named after himself.
Ellroy + Crowe + 1970s + crime = yeah, we'd see it.
Russell Crowe has apparently been looking to make his directorial debut for quite some time now -- we'll see if "77" is the magic number that gets him behind the camera as well as in front of it.
