Crowe tells of suspected kidnap plot
Actor Russell Crowe has revealed that he was given FBI protection after a suspected al-Qaeda plot to kidnap him.
The New Zealand born actor said that he had been made aware of the threat in the months before the 2001 Oscars ceremony, where he collected the award for Best Actor for his performance in 'Gladiator'.
Crowe said that he was accompanied by undercover police officers while attending the BAFTA Awards and the Golden Globes that year.
The actor said that he had never heard of the al-Qaeda network before he was informed of the plot to kidnap him. Al-Qaeda came to public attention after the 11 September attacks later in 2001.
He was told that a French policewoman had picked up a recording which indicated that the al-Qaeda network would try to kidnap successful actors.
Crowe told Australian GQ magazine: "It was about - and here's another little touch of irony - taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural destabilisation plan."
The actor also employed his own private security guards at the time, one of whom was a former Australian rugby player.
