Russell Crowe to Star in Biblical Epic NOAH

As first reported on Deadline.com, actor Russell Crowe has reportedly signed on to play the title role in NOAH, Darren Aronofsky's upcoming biblical epic about the prophet from Regency/Paramount Studios. Rumors that Crowe was in serious negotiations to take on the role have been circulating for weeks.

No other cast members have been announced for the film which will be a re-telling of the tale of Noah's Ark. Liam Neeson is rumored to be interested in a small role in the movie. An official statement about Crowe is expected from the studio early next week.

The project, which marks Aronofsky's first film since "BLACK SWAN", will begin shooting in July.

Crowe is best known for his role as Roman General Maximus Decimus Meridius in the 2000 historical epic film Gladiator, directed by Ridley Scott, for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor, a Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, an Empire Award for Best Actor and a London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor and ten further nominations for Best Actor.

Crowe appeared in the 1999 film The Insider, for which he received five awards as Best Actor and seven nominations in the same category. In 2001, Crowe's portrayal of mathematician and Nobel Prize winner John F. Nash in the biopic A Beautiful Mind brought him numerous awards, including an BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor category Motion Picture Drama and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role. Crowe's other films include L.A. Confidential (1997), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) Cinderella Man (2005), American Gangster (2007), 3:10 to Yuma (2007) and Robin Hood (2010).