A clip of Russell Crowe setting firm boundaries before signing autographs has gone viral. While some reported that the actor lost his cool, many online users defended Crowe and commended him for setting ground rules while still accommodating his fans.

The actor has had a reputation for occasional public outbursts and has spoken about the pressures of fame, including intense media scrutiny and loss of privacy, which has also led him to emphasize his limits when dealing with the public.

Russell Crowe Sets Rules Before Signing Autographs

Oscar-winning actor Russell Crowe was in Paris attending the French Open when he was captured on video outside his hotel dealing with a crowd of fans waiting for him to sign photos. Before approaching them, however, the actor held up his hands and gave a few instructions.

“Stay where you are. Don’t f-cking push in on me. I’ll come to you. Give everybody space. As soon as somebody’s a d-ck, I’m gone. Got me? Clear?” Crowe said. One person could be heard saying, “Yes, sir.”

The actor then proceeded to sign autographs one by one while the crowd heeded his warning and gave him space.

The video went viral, with some reposts and headlines saying Crowe lost his cool. Many online users, however, defended the actor, saying that he calmly set his boundaries.

Online Users Defended The Actor

The viral video garnered thousands of comments. Some questioned the phrasing of headlines, noting that Crowe didn’t “lose it” at all. “He does not LOSE IT. He sets a boundary very calmly while also saying ‘f-ck’ because he’s Australian,” one user commented.

Another user said Crowe just used a “very stern voice” to set his limits, adding, “he said I will come to you, so it allowed him the opportunity to go to each person. I respect this a lot.”

At one point, one person asked Crowe to add “Maximus,” his character in “Gladiator,” to the autograph, to which the actor responded, “No.” While some saw his refusal as rude, others came to his defense, saying that some people weren’t real fans and just wanted autographs to sell.

One user noted, “Perfectly acceptable reaction on his part. These aren’t all just fans. They are professional autograph hunters looking to get signatures and then sell them online,” adding that Crowe didn’t seem at all agitated.

Overall, most online users agree that Crowe made a fair and reasonable request before signing autographs.

Russell Crowe Was Shocked By His Popularity

Crowe has been acting since he was a young age, starting his career in Australia. He starred in a few Hollywood movies in the ’90s, but it wasn’t until 2000’s “Gladiator” that he reached new levels of fame. In an interview on “The Howard Stern Show” in 2019, the actor recounted how shocked he was to learn how popular he had become.

Shortly after the movie came out, Crowe said that he visited a jewelry store in Rome and, when he came out, was surprised to see a large crowd had gathered. He also noticed the police were there. He approached one of them and asked, “What’s going on there?” The police replied, “You. You are going on,” saying the crowd was there to see him.

The Actor Said Fame Was ‘Easy’ Before ‘Gladiator’

Crowe won a Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal of Maximus Decimus Meridius in “Gladiator.” In a 2020 interview with PEOPLE, he discussed what being famous was like before and after the movie.

Prior to “Gladiator,” Crowe said he had “fun” being famous and that he didn’t face much pressure. “It just meant that if you’d go in a restaurant, the maître-d was pleased to see you. If you were booking into a hotel, you got an upgrade if there was one available. Being famous was easy at that point,” he explained.

When he reached a new height of fame after “Gladiator,” however, Crowe said he no longer felt like himself. His personal life was scrutinized, and he became the subject of many headlines, with the claim that his behavior was “taken in a different way.”

Russell Crowe Got Sick Of Success

Following “Gladiator,” Crowe appeared in several other hit movies, including “A Beautiful Mind,” “Cinderella Man,” “American Gangster,” “Les Misérables,” and many others. However, the Hollywood grind and the pressures that came with it took a toll on him.

As he told The i Paper in 2020, he never got a break from working at that time, and the “extreme” and “intense bubble” he lived in became too much. “It got to a point where the little irritating things you have to deal with became bigger and bigger. I actually got sick of being successful – it was like ‘F-ck it, leave me alone,'” he explained. Looking back, that was the “golden period” in his career, but he had a tough time dealing with the success and fame.

In 2018, Crowe left Hollywood and relocated to Australia, where he was raised, settling on a rural property.