It seems Ron Howard has very strict rules about who can visit his movie sets – although that doesn't always stop people from showing up uninvited. The director’s 2002 film A Beautiful Mind was based on mathematical genius John Nash, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was welcomed on set by Ron or Russell Crowe, who portrayed him in the film.
"I had asked him not to come, because a couple of times, I did TV movies where I played a real guy, and I just never personally wanted to meet that person," Ron told Far Out Magazine. "So I wasn’t that keen for Russell necessarily to get together with John. I was concerned that Russell was going to feel compelled or responsible to not work from within, but to try and get on track and do some imitation of Nash."
While the Academy Award-winning actor shared the same sentiment, it eventually became unavoidable to not see John due to the filming locations, with many scenes shot in real-life locations linked to the mathematician. "We were shooting in Princeton, and that’s where John lives, and that’s where he works," shared Russell. "So he just walked up to the set. And I realised it was him, and I was sort of dumbfounded."
© Mondadori Portfolio via Getty ImWhile Russell had admitted that he didn't want his idea for the character to be warped by meeting the real person, he decided to embrace the run-in with John. "If you have the opportunity to meet them, don’t be an absolute idiot," he said.
The synopsis reads: "John Nash, a brilliant but asocial mathematical genius, finds himself in pain when he encounters a cruel disorder. He ultimately overcomes his struggles and emerges free of any trauma."
© FilmMagicWhere is Russell Crowe today?
The 61-year-old recently revealed that he has a TikTok account of his own where he showcases his luxury watch collection. The unverified account now has tens of thousands of followers and is named "igp366" after his band, Indoor Garden Party.
© TikTok"Hello, I use this TikTok to talk about Indoor Garden party & watches. Hope you are happy and busy," his bio reads. In one video on the page, Russell shared insight into some of his favorite watches, including a Rolex Cosmograph Daytona.
"Now, I'm not going to show you my entire watch collection. That would take quite some time because I'm literally obsessed and have been for a long time. But this is my current rotation."
