‘It’s not hard to look after a bloke like that’: Former footballer Mark ‘Spud’ Carroll talks about working as Russell Crowe’s bodyguard… and admits he initially ‘had no idea who he was’
Mark ‘Spud’ Carroll has shed some insight into what it was like to work as Russell Crowe’s bodyguard for seven years.
In an interview with Triple M’s Moonman In the Morning on Friday, the 54-year-old former rugby league footballer spoke about working for the Oscar winner.
Spud admitted he ‘had no idea who he was’ when he first met the 56-year-old Gladiator star, and said he was more starstruck by Tom Cruise, who was with him.
Behind the scenes: Mark ‘Spud’ Carroll (pictured at the Sydney premiere of Cinderella Man in September 2005) has shed some insight into what it was like to work as Russell Crowe’s bodyguard for seven years.
The two actors walked into the South Sydney Rabbitohs dressing room while Spud was still on the team.
‘I remember Tom Cruise walking in. I was like, “Bloody Tom Cruise!” and they were like, “Oh, Russell Crowe’s there,” but I had no idea who he was,’ he recounted.
‘We ended up becoming mates from there, and look, it’s been fantastic. It’s not hard to look after a bloke like that.’
Boss: In an interview with Triple M’s Moonman In the Morning on Friday, the 54-year-old former rugby league footballer spoke about working for Russell Crowe (pictured at a movie screening in New York City in October 2018)
Spud was asked if he ever went out for a drink with Russell, but the former sports star opted to remain tight-lipped.
‘When you do something like that, you’ve got to have a bit of confidentiality, so I can’t let anything out of the bag…’ he told the radio show’s hosts.
Spud said he ‘never’ had to protect Russell from anyone, but acknowledged that his level of fame is ‘unbelievable’.
Famous friends: Spud admitted he ‘had no idea who he was’ when he first met the 56-year-old Gladiator star, and said he was more starstruck by Tom Cruise (pictured at a movie premiere in Washington D.C. in July 2018), who was with him
‘The crazy thing about his life is he can’t go anywhere around the world without being noticed. It’s unbelievable,’ he added.
‘That’s what he signed up for, to be a movie star, and he’s one of the best in the game.’
In an interview with Fox Sports in March 2017, Spud spoke about meeting Russell in 1999, and accompanying him onto the 2005 set of Cinderella Man.
‘We ended up becoming mates from there, and look, it’s been fantastic. It’s not hard to look after a bloke like that,’ Spud (pictured) said of Russell
‘I used to deal with about 150 people a day on set – the likes of Angelo Dundee, Renée Zellweger, Ron Howard for Christ’s sake. I met him. It was unbelievable. Renée is a beautiful lady…’ he said at the time.
‘To go to a movie, to see someone work the way [Russell] does, you can see why he’s so good.’
He added of the film, in which Russell portrays former boxer James J. Braddock: ‘To be able to look like a boxer and sound like an American. What he does to his body… he goes up and down like a yo yo.’
Fight club: In an interview with Fox Sports, Spud spoke about meeting Russell in 1999, and accompanying him onto the 2005 set of Cinderella Man. Pictured in a scene from the film