In what sounds like a typically Australian greeting, actor and comedian Rebel Wilson has told an audience at the AACTA Awards (Australia’s equivalent of the BAFTAs) that the first time she met Gladiator star Russell Crowe – he told her to “f*ck off.”
Wilson was presenting the award for best drama series with Crowe when she recounted the anecdote [via Yahoo]. And to be fair to Crowe, at the time, Wilson was a 19-year-old unknown, and she was interrupting a dinner that he was having with superstar Nicole Kidman at the Sydney Theatre Company.
“I have to tell you guys a story about the very first time that I met Russell. I was a young actor. I was like 19. And he was sitting there having dinner with Nicole Kidman at STC. I was like, “Oh, my God!” and I went up to them, and I was like really nervous, and he turned to me, and he looked me right in the eyes, and he just said, “F**k off. It’s a true story!”
She continued, “Many years later, Nicole Kidman gave me a scholarship to go to America and study comedy. Um, Russell didn’t give me anything. No Rabbitohs merch – nothing.” The Rabbitohs are an Australian rugby league club co-owned by Russell Crowe.
Claiming while she didn’t forget, neither did Crowe, as Rebel added: “You know, a few years ago, he did give me a hug, and then he, like, sweetly whispered in my ear, “I thought I told you to f**k off”.
Wilson is best known for appearing in American comedy movies, such as Bridesmaids, Pitch Perfect, How to Be Single, Isn’t it Romantic and The Hustle. She’s recently been in the pure unadulterated musical nightmare fuel that was Cats (2019), and Netflix movie Senior Year.
Russell Crowe is a more serious actor whose breakthrough Hollywood role was in LA Confidential (1997), before winning the Oscar for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator (2000). He plays Jor-El in the DCEU and appeared in The Nice Guys (2017) and True History of the Kelly Gang (2019) in recent years.
Have a look at our list of the best comedy series for more laughs.