Russell Crowe is starring in a new Netflix thriller, marking a career first for the actor. Crowe was one of Hollywood’s A-list leading men during the early aughts, winning an Academy Award for his role as the Roman general Maximus in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, which also made $465 million at the box office and was the second-highest-grossing movie of that year. Crowe continued to impress with his performance as a schizophrenic math genius in A Beautiful Mind, which earned him another Oscar nomination. Notably, both movies also won Best Picture.

However, in recent years, Crowe has starred in smaller projects that are certainly not on the blockbuster level, like Gladiator. While the majority of these movies receive theatrical releases, they tend to make little impression at the box office, but they generally perform well on streaming platforms, especially Netflix. Interestingly, despite consistently strong streaming viewership, earning him an almost “streaming king” reputation, Crowe has rarely ventured into producing original movies specifically for streaming. That is, until the recent news of him starring in a Netflix movie.

Russell Crowe Is Starring In His First Netflix Movie

Crowe Will Play The Professor In Unabom

Russell Crowe is starring in the Netflix movie Unabom, which will be his first starring role in a Netflix Original movie. The Unabomber was the nickname given to Ted Kaczynski, once a math prodigy at Harvard who became an infamous domestic terrorist by carrying out a series of mail bombings across the United States between 1978 and 1995. His attacks killed three people and injured 23 others, leading to an extensive FBI investigation and one of the longest manhunts in American history before his eventual capture and conviction in 1996.

In Unabom, Crowe will be playing the Harvard psychology professor, Henry Murray. During his time at the Ivy League university, Murray subjected a young Ted Kaczynski to controversial psychological experiments, which contributed to his troubled past that eventually helped create the Unabomber. A young Ted Kaczynski’s interactions with Crowe’s controversial professor, Henry Murray, is expected to be one of two timelines chronicled by the movie, in addition to the Unabomber’s eventual capture.

In addition to Crowe, Annabelle Wallis is also starring as Christiana Morgan, Professor Murray’s academic partner and co-director of the Harvard Psychological Clinic. Jacob Tremblay stars as a young Ted Kaczynski alongside Shailene Woodley as Joanne Miller, the FBI agent tasked with hunting down the Unabomber.

Russell Crowe Technically Did Have A Role In A 2017 Netflix Movie

However, It Was A Cameo

Unabom is technically not Russell Crowe’s first Netflix movie since he had a cameo in War Machine. Netflix’s 2017 satirical war comedy stars Brad Pitt as the unconventional General Glen McMahon who faces resistance from foes, allies, and government officials as he oversees a large-scale reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. The film features a star-studded ensemble that includes Topher Grace, Anthony Michael Hall, Alan Ruck, Ben Kingsley, Tilda Swinton, Will Poulter, LaKeith Stanfield, and many more.

Crowe has a cameo during War Machine‘s final scene, appearing as General Bob White, General Glen McMahon’s replacement. According to director David Michod, Crowe’s cameo is meant to symbolize the endless cycle of U.S. military intervention. His sneering general represents how, despite leadership changes, flawed strategies persist. Crowe’s presence reinforces the film’s satirical message that nothing truly changes, and the war machine continues to churn, indifferent to failure or consequence.

However, Crowe’s cameo in War Machine is an uncredited role, so it really doesn’t count in most cases. Outside of his brief cameo in War Machine, he hasn’t appeared in many movies produced originally for a streaming service. Zack Snyder’s Justice League, colloquially referred to as the Snyder Cut, is one of the rare examples since it was released exclusively on then-HBO Max in 2021. The Greatest Beer Run Everhad a limited theatrical release and was streamed on Apple TV+.Otherwise, Unabom will be Crowe’s first starring role in a Netflix Original movie.

Russell Crowe’s Career Record Is Interesting Due To His Past Movies’ Streaming Performance

Crowe’s Movies Perform Exceptionally Well On Streaming

The fact that Russell Crowe is starring in his first Netflix film now is interesting since his past movies have performed exceptionally well on the streaming service. This success comes at a time when he has been focusing more on smaller movies that haven’t made a big splash at the box office. Still, there’s clearly a strong demand for his work in the streaming space, which makes this trend even more noteworthy, especially considering he rarely stars in movies made exclusively for streaming platforms.

Recent Russell Crowe movies have even trended on Netflix, starting with Land of Bad in 2024. The action thriller flew under the radar in theaters, making only $6.5 million at the box office, but later became a global hit on Netflix. For the week of July 15-21, Land of Bad was the third-most watched movie on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart with 8.7 million views and 16.6 million hours viewed.

This trend continued with Unhinged, which was released much earlier in 2020, but only became a global Netflix hit four years later. For the week of October 14-20, Unhinged was the eighth-most-watched movie on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart with 5.2 million views and 7.9 million hours viewed. Considering how both movies made little impression at the box office, these streaming numbers are notably impressive.

Russell Crowe’s First Leading Netflix Movie Only Brings More Intrigue

Crowe Could Guarantee Lots Of Interest For Unabom

Russell Crowe’s leading role in Unabom adds to the intrigue surrounding the movie, not only because of his streaming prowess, but his proven ability to portray complex characters. As Professor Henry Murray, a figure whose real-life psychological experiments on Ted Kaczynski helped shape one of the most notorious criminals in U.S. history, Crowe should bring a certain nuance to the character central to the film’s underlying tension. His involvement instantly elevates the project, turning what might have been a niche thriller into a must-watch for a broad streaming audience.

Given Crowe’s strong track record on Netflix, Unabom is likely to attract substantial interest. With Unhinged and Land of Bad both performing well on the platform, Crowe has proven that his name can still draw audiences, especially in the streaming era. Now that he is headlining a Netflix film for the first time, subscribers who have enjoyed his recent work on the streaming service are even more likely to tune in. For Netflix, Unabom represents a strategic bet on a proven streaming favorite, and it may just pay off in a big way.