Without revealing too many details about the forthcoming Highlander reboot, Russell Crowe has noted that co-star Henry Cavill’s recent leg injury and the subsequent delay it has led to in filming, might have worked in Crowe’s favour given the short amount of limited prep time the veteran actor has had between projects.
In the interview for Australian tv, covering not just his film output but his musical ventures (with group Indoor Garden Party) and drink promotion – Muff Liquor, Crowe notes he has been very busy, working on five separate productions in the last year alone.
“I’m 61 and to be as employable as I seem to be is… really pleasing. I did a small independent Australian film called The Beast in Me… I did bear Country where I play an Albanian money-launderer. After that I did Billion Dollar Spy that was in Budapest, where I play a Russian scientist who is selling state secrets to the Americans. After that I went to Montreal in Canada to play a Harvard professor in a film called Unabomb. It’s been a very busy year. I was turning up at rehearsals, turning up at meetings and I was fried, my brain was absolutely fried! I was starting to get worried,” he explained. “I was on set for the remake of Highlander… and that’s going to be a very difficult, hugely physical film. I’m coming along in terms of getting back into that body-shape but I wanted a couple more months of doing it gently. Then Henry, unfortunately injured himself, so they pushed the movie. For me, that was a bit of a prayer answered and now I have quite a few months before I go back on the set and I can get back into my normal rhythm where it’s not as packed!”
Officially confirming for the first time what was already logically presumed, Crowe told 60 Minutes Australia that he is essaying Juan Sánchez-Villalobos Ramírez (the mentor role originally essayed by the legendary Sean Connery in the 1986 film) when the movie starts filming early in 2026. He mentions that his intention is to play the character with a Spanish accent, something that Connery notably did not do for the character despite Ramirez’s stipulated Spanish/Egyptian heritage.
“The character’s name is Ramirez and Sean played the character brilliantly as a Scotsman. But they explained that the reason Ramirez, a Spaniard, had a Scottish accent in the movie was that he’d earlier come from Egypt!” Crowe laughed. He also explained that finding accents has always been… interesting, relating a tale where he suggested to director Ridley Scott that he attempt an Antonio Banderas-like accent with slightly better elocution for Maximus (in Gladiator). Ridley apparently said “No f*cking way!” and shot the idea down, saying he’d hired Crowe for his own voice.
Originally Highlander was expected to start lensing in September/October 2025 for either a late 2026 or early 2027 debut.
Crowe’s next release, filmed last year and due out next week, is Nuremberg based on the 2013 book The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai. He plays the infamous Hermann Göring, one of the most prominent Nazis under Adolf Hitler with the story following his trial in Nuremberg in 1946 where he was charged with conspiracy, crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. It looks like a strong contender for major recognition and awards.
You can see the full 60 Minutes interview here:
