Russell Crowe Reveals Stunning Transformation For New Historical Action Epic

PA Images/INSTARimages Published Aug 5, 2026, 1:07 PM EDT Dan Zinski is a freelance scribe currently contributing to ScreenRant as a movie and TV news writer. He previously wrote for FanSided, The Viking Age and Lightly Buzzed. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Russell Crowe is leaving Hermann Göring behind. The Oscar-winning star of Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind garnered early awards buzz for his performance as the notorious Nazi Göring in 2025’s historical drama Nuremberg, but ultimately was left off the Academy Awards ballot. A year after starring as the notably heavyset war criminal in that film, Crowe is going a completely different direction with the physicality of his character for the new film The Last Druid, and seems happy to be leaving his Göring body behind. Crowe got a chance to show off the new physique he's developed in a social media posting, smiling and flexing his ripped biceps for the camera. “In the gym with Drew McIntyre. Good lad. Salt of the earth. Just finishing up the shoot on The Last Druid,” Crowe posted in a caption. The Nuremberg star went on, “We have been shooting in Spain since May. It has been two years now since playing Hermann Goering in Nuremberg. The long sweaty days in the beautiful Spanish sunshine have definitely been a great motivator. As I always say, it’s one layer of tissue paper at a time. Consistency is your friend.” Directed by William Eubank (The Signal), The Last Druid kicks off when “A Celtic elder living in a secluded Druid stronghold in the mountains of Caledonia must take up arms to protect his family and people from the invading Roman army.” In a November 2024 ScreenRant article, an argument was made that this premise, with a few tweaks, would have made sense for the Crowe-less Gladiator 2, and might even have resulted in a better movie. "This narrative would have complemented Gladiator's original tale well,” the piece proclaims. “Remaining faithful to his first movie, [Ridley] Scott could have kept the story in Rome rather than Scotland, which would've been an interesting reinterpretation of the concept of The Last Druid. The story would have required some revisions, but the general idea would have been better suited to Scott's historical universe.” Comparisons between Gladiator and The Last Druid seem inevitable, given both films’ ancient Roman setting and casting of Crowe as the lead. Crowe has generally done well with historical epics across his career, receiving critical acclaim not only for Gladiator (80% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), but also for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (85% fresh), Noah (75% fresh), and Les Miserables (70% fresh). Less acclaimed was the star’s 2010 dud Robin Hood, whose 43% fresh rating makes it Crowe’s lowest-rated historical epic. Director William Eubank Writers William Eubank, Philip Gawthorne, Carlyle Eubank Cast