Russell Crowe Talks Superhero Movies: “These Are Jobs”

Actor Russell Crowe has sounded off on the current state of superhero movies and specifically responded to concerns raised by people like Madam Web star Dakota Johnson about how big films can be “made by committee.” Crowe, who himself starred in Zack Snyder’s Superman, Thor: Love and Thunder, and is set to appear in another comic book movie, Kraven the Hunter, said actors going into the process expecting them to be a “life-changing event” are misguided.

“You’re telling me you signed up for a Marvel movie, and some f**king universe for cartoon characters… and you didn’t get enough pathos? Not quite sure how I can make this better for you. It’s a gigantic machine, and they make movies at a certain size,” he told GQ. “And you know, I’ve experienced that on the DC side with Man of Steel, Zack Snyder, and I’ve experienced it on the Marvel side via Disney with Thor: Love and Thunder. And I’ve also experienced the [Sony-produced] Marvel dark universe with Kraven the Hunter. These are jobs. You know: here’s your role, play the role. If you’re expecting this to be some kind of life-changing event, I just think you’re here for the wrong reasons.”

Crowe went on to say making superhero movies with lots of CG can be challenging because an actor has to imagine things that will eventually be created with computers. Crowe said he doesn’t know what exactly Johnson went through on Madame Web, and he admitted she could have had a “shit experience” making that movie. His experiences have been better, though.

“But is that the Marvel process? I’m not sure you can say that. I haven’t had a bad experience. I mean [on Thor], OK, it’s a Marvel movie, but it’s Taika Waititi’s world, and it was just a gas every day, being silly,” he said.

For Kraven, Crowe said he was fun working with director JC Chandor and playing a role in the film that adds “a little weight to the circumstances.”

“You know, so many of these directors have a certain skill level–freaking genius people. Think about what’s required, right? It’s everything: the composition, the framing, the color, the music, what’s left outside the camera,” he said.

Johnson seemed to have had a unpleasant experience making Madam Web, saying she will probably never make another film like that again.

“I had never done anything like it before. I probably will never do anything like it again because I don’t make sense in that world,” she said. “And I know that now. But sometimes in this industry, you sign on to something, and it’s one thing and then as you’re making it, it becomes a completely different thing, and you’re like, ‘Wait, what?’But it was a real learning experience, and of course it’s not nice to be a part of something that’s ripped to shreds, but I can’t say that I don’t understand.”