Renowned for his versatility and dedication to his craft, Russell Crowe is no stranger to transforming himself for the roles he undertakes, and it was not any different for the 2013 film Man of Steel. Directed by Zack Snyder, the movie featured him as Jor-El, Superman/Kal-El’s father, who sends his son to Earth before meeting his demise at the hands of General Zod during a coup.
Despite having a relatively brief role in the movie, Crowe still had to follow a rigorous six-month workout regimen to prepare for his character. And the actor opened up about this intensive workout routine in a recent interview with People.
Russell Crowe Had to Follow an Intense Workout Routine For Man of Steel
Starring alongside Henry Cavill, the Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe portrayed the role of Jor-El in the 2013 DC film Man of Steel. In a recent interview with People, the actor reflected on the rigorous physical training he embraced to portray the Kryptonian father of Superman.
“In retrospect, I obviously knew something was wrong,” he told People, highlighting the injury he sustained while filming Robin Hood, which went unnoticed for years. The Gladiator star further shared how he still followed on with the training for the Zack Snyder film.
“To be the Kryptonian father of Superman was six months of incredibly intense physical training. Between the time off and that training, things fixed themselves.”
In an earlier interview, Russell Crowe shared that he was not aware that he also had to wear the spandex suit, for which he had to go through months of training. “We’re just training, multiple training sessions a day,” he said before adding, “But that suit to actually fit you’ve got to [do] a lot of work.”
The Robin Hood star also shared that Zack Snyder is very particular about these things. Henry Cavill, who played the lead role in the 2013 film also had to follow a strict training routine and consume nearly 5,000 calories a day to embody the DC superhero.
Russell Crowe Fractured Both His Legs While Filming Robin Hood
In his interview, actor Russell Crowe also opened up about the stunt that later became a much bigger problem. The actor portrayed the title character in the 2010 film Robin Hood, and while filming one of the sequences he “jumped off a castle portcullis onto rock-hard uneven ground.”
He shared that due to the rush no precautions or safety measures were followed, such as preparing the ground with a pad to cushion the landing. “As I jumped, I remember thinking, ‘This is going to hurt,'” he recalled as he explained that he felt his heels hit the uneven ground first.
Despite experiencing considerable discomfort and difficulty walking at times, he continued filming the movie. Crowe shared that he “never took a day off because of it, I just kept going to work.” And he did not realize the severity of the injury until a decade later when he visited a doctor following “very strange pains” in his lower legs.
Crowe was shocked when the doctor examined the X-rays and asked him, “When did you break your legs?” He further shared that the X-ray showed remnants of fractures in both shin bones, and it was then he realized that he had suffered the injury almost ten years ago while filming Robin Hood.
Man of Steel is available to stream on Max.
Robin Hood is available on Prime Video.
