Much less smug and much more humble than he used to be, Russell Crowe seems to have calmed down a bit these days. At least that’s the impression we got on his recent visit to Dave Letterman’s show. Crowe was down-to-earth while discussing his weight gain (“I was a big boy”) for his new film Body of Lies, his long-time relationship with Leo DiCaprio (their first film was 1993’s The Quick and the Dead) and his family, even quoting his young son in a discussion about cow poo versus horse poo. Just like a regular, doting dad!

Crowe came prepared with good stories from the set, from several sets actually and included the audience while he told them. He had fun with Dave and a prop he brought to illustrate a long-played practical joke on Leo (a small atomizer to simulate a sneeze) and even had Dave asking to have it done to him. “Oh yeah” was his response to the “mist.” And in a perfect example of knowing your host, he related his own experiences owning a rugby team to Dave’s owning a racing team – they both sign a lot of checks and get ignored.
My only criticism, and it’s a small one, is the extensive set-up he felt he needed to explain the clip. It wasn’t really necessary and I started to not only get confused, but also lose interest.  Otherwise he was low-key, funny and entertaining.

It seems family life has tamed the wild beast…at least on talk shows.