Russell Crowe to Play Bill Hicks?
Filed under: Comedy, Documentary, Drama, Casting, RumorMonger
If you squint your eyes just right and look at a photo of the late comedian Bill Hicks, he kind of resembles a young Russell Crowe (or vice versa). So, it would have been really cool if the Australian actor had played Hicks around ten years ago, when he was still in his 30s. But if we've learned anything from Kevin Spacey and Mike Myers (respectively, star of the Bobby Darin biopic Beyond the Sea and star of an upcoming Keith Moon biopic titled See Me Feel Me), you're never too old to play an icon who died young, and therefore we must accept the fact that at close to 50 years old, Crowe is likely to portray Hicks, who died from cancer at age 32. Fortunately for Crowe, he's good enough that it shouldn't be too hard to believe such a portrayal. The Oscar-winning actor is quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald saying he's involved with a Hicks bio, "which is going from treatment to draft stage with Kiwi writer Mark Staufer." Never mind that the quote doesn't sound like it was actually spoken by anyone, let alone Crowe, the article is mostly about how the actor is spending time with his family now that Ridley Scott's Nottingham has been postponed. Crowe also references other projects, including an unnamed documentary and the surfing gang movie My Brother's Keeper, based on the documentary Bra Boys, which Crowe narrated. Stuart Beattie, who co-wrote the doc, is currently working on a second draft of its adaptation.
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(Page 1)2. Has Crowe ever starred in any comedy movie?
And would this biopic movie cover the allegations of plagiarism towards Denis Leary? I am a fan of Leary/"Rescue Me" fan, but I also believe Leary plagiarised Hicks.
Posted at 10:16PM on Aug 19th 2008 by oversandal
3. I also think it's important for the actor to have that natural hillbilly twang in his voice to properly portray Hicks. Nothing worse in this world than a totally fake accent.
Posted at 10:25PM on Aug 19th 2008 by Steve
4. Nah, Jason Lee is going to play George Carlin. Have you seen photos of young George? It's uncanny.
As for Hicks, I think I look more like him than Russel Crowe does. Don't believe me? Look at the picture on my page: http://kurtharsis.com
Of course, every now and then I hear that I look like Russel Crowe. So I guess it all comes out in the wash.
Posted at 11:04PM on Aug 19th 2008 by Kurt
5. When looked at the picture that was posted earlier today on a different site, I immediately thought of Kevin Spacey...with hair of course. And Spacey has some great comedic talent...I think Crowe is too...dramatic...but I don't know, could work.
Posted at 3:00AM on Aug 20th 2008 by Gray McAdam
6. Russell Crowe almost 50?? Dang... way to prematurely age a guy for inappropriate effect. He's only 44. Hicks looked like he was in his 40's in his last few years anyway, thanks to disease and hard living.
I think it'd be amazing casting. Some people seem to think an actor must actually "BE" what they're portraying. Folks, actors ACT... Crowe wasn't really a Gladiator, a sea captain, a hockey player, a tobacco scientist, an old west train robber, a schizophrenic math genius nor a cop when he played those roles in films.
Posted at 9:44AM on Aug 20th 2008 by Mimi
7. I admit that I accidentally advanced his age a bit, though I had meant that he'd be close to 50 by the time he actually shoots the thing. Though now I see that it'd be closer to 46-47. I might have been looking at Hicks' birth year when I made the mistake.
Posted at 9:52AM on Aug 20th 2008 by Christopher Campbell
8. You really think Crowe can't play a man of 50 without makeup, pleeze, he looks more than 50!!
Posted at 5:44PM on Sep 29th 2008 by Debbie
9. ugh... we don't need a movie on Bill Hicks. It will be terrible. Listen to his records if you wanna know what he's all about.
Posted at 12:16PM on Aug 20th 2008 by Pukenshette
10. I think that David Duchovny would be a better man for the role of Bill Hicks.
Posted at 8:48AM on Aug 21st 2008 by Peter
11. I wouldn't care if they picked Claire Danes to play Bill Hicks as long as they stayed true to the man. I mean, Bill Hicks is a hero of mine and his message was always bigger than him. The good thing about this, if it ever got made is that it would introduce him to a wider audience. The bad thing is, it would have been more relevant if it had been released about 4 years ago. A lot of the things he talked about 10 years ago are here and now all over again.
Posted at 11:55PM on Aug 22nd 2008 by Shawn
12. I agree with Mimi. And if anyone out there could truly capture the mad passion and intensity of Bill it would be Crowe. Seriously, when you think about it who else could pull it off and do the man justice? A few mentioned Jason Lee and he's certainly talented but he's no Crowe. Guess we'll have to wait and see...
Posted at 7:10AM on Aug 29th 2008 by abe
1. Man...I've always wanted Jason Lee to play Hicks. Or at least someone with good comedic timing.
Posted at 8:43PM on Aug 19th 2008 by Eric