One can only assume that Osama bin Laden is not a huge fan of Gladiator.
Actor Russell Crowe was the target of an al-Qaeda kidnapping plot in 2001 and has had FBI protection since.The Oscar winner was first contacted by the FBI in 2001 and warned of the threat, The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported, citing a story in the March edition of GQ Magazine.The FBI approach was made in the months before Crowe’s Oscar win for Gladiator.“That was the first [time] I’d ever heard the phrase al-Qaeda,” Crowe said.“It was about – and here’s another little touch of irony * – taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as sort of a cultural destabilisation plot.”Crowe was protected by the FBI on subsequent film shoots and industry engagements such as the Golden Globe awards.Crowe told the magazine he never really understood the situation.“I never fully understood what the f— was going on,” he said.“Suddenly it looks like I think I’m f—— Elvis Presley, because everywhere I go there are all these FBI guys.”
One has to wonder why al-Qaeda went after Crowe of all actors. Could it be his penchant for drinking alcohol, something that Islam frowns upon? More likely it was the fact that al-Qaeda were hardpressed to find a Hollywood celebrity on the opposite side of the fence.
Meanwhile, you have to admire Crowe. After receiving a threat like that, he would be forgiven for trying to keep a low profile. Instead, he goes out and does this.
He’s the man.
* The irony he speaks of is the fact that he isn’t even American, but rather a New Zealander
