Russell Crowe acts.
Russell Ira Crowe ( born 7 April 1964 ) is an actor , film producer and musician . Crowe appeared as the tobacco firm whistle blower Jeffrey Wigand in the 1999 film The Insider , for which he received five awards as best actor and seven nominations in the same category . In 2001 , Crowe 's portrayal of mathematician and Nobel Prize winner John F. Nash in the biopic A Beautiful Mind brought him numerous awards , including a BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role , a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role .