A New Thriller Marks A Career First For The Actor
Russell Crowe is starring in the Netflix movie Unabom, which will be his first starring role in a Netflix Original movie. The Unabomber was the nickname given to Ted Kaczynski, once a math prodigy at Harvard who became an infamous domestic terrorist by carrying out a series of mail bombings across the United States between 1978 and 1995. His attacks killed three people and injured 23 others, leading to an extensive FBI investigation and one of the longest manhunts in American history before his eventual capture and conviction in 1996.
- Timeline
- The movie is expected to explore two timelines: Ted Kaczynski’s college years and his eventual capture and trial.
Crowe will be playing the Harvard psychology professor, Henry Murray. During his time at the Ivy League university, Murray subjected a young Ted Kaczynski to controversial psychological experiments, which contributed to his troubled past that eventually helped create the Unabomber. A young Ted Kaczynski’s interactions with Crowe’s controversial professor, Henry Murray, is expected to be one of two timelines chronicled by the movie. In addition to Crowe, Annabelle Wallis is also starring as Christiana Morgan, Professor Murray’s academic partner and co-director of the Harvard Psychological Clinic. Jacob Tremblay stars as a young Ted Kaczynski alongside Shailene Woodley as Joanne Miller, the FBI agent tasked with hunting down the Unabomber.
Netflix Star Russell Crowe Makes A Cameo In War Machine
However, it is worth noting that Russell Crowe had a cameo in War Machine, a Netflix movie released in 2017. Crowe played General Bob White, a replacement for General Glen McMahon, who was played by Brad Pitt. The film, directed by David Michod, features a star-studded ensemble, including Topher Grace, Anthony Michael Hall, Alan Ruck, Ben Kingsley, Tilda Swinton, Will Poulter, LaKeith Stanfield, and many more.
“Crowe’s cameo is meant to symbolize the endless cycle of U.S. military intervention,” says director David Michod. “His sneering general represents how, despite leadership changes, flawed strategies persist.”
Crowe only appears for 15 seconds in War Machine, making it an uncredited role.
A Career First For Russell Crowe
Unabom represents a strategic bet by Netflix on a proven streaming favorite, Russell Crowe. With his past movies performing exceptionally well on the streaming service, this movie is likely to bring a lot of interest to the project. Crowe has a proven ability to portray complex characters, and his involvement instantly elevates the project, turning what might have been a niche thriller into a must-watch for a broad streaming audience.
Streaming Success
Russell Crowe’s movies have performed exceptionally well on Netflix. Recent movies like Land of Bad and Unhinged have trended on the platform, starting with Land of Bad in 2024. The action thriller flew under the radar in theaters, making only $6.5 million at the box office, but later became a global hit on Netflix. For the week of July 15-21, Land of Bad was the third-most watched movie on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart with 8.7 million views and 16.6 million hours viewed. This trend continued with Unhinged, which was released much earlier in 2020, but only became a global Netflix hit four years later. For the week of October 14-20, Unhinged was the eighth-most-watched movie on Netflix’s Global Top 10 chart with 5.2 million views and 7.9 million hours viewed.
What To Expect From Unabom
Unabom is expected to explore two timelines: Ted Kaczynski’s college years and his eventual capture and trial. With Crowe playing the role of Professor Henry Murray, a figure whose real-life psychological experiments on Ted Kaczynski helped shape one of the most notorious criminals in U.S. history, the movie is likely to bring a certain nuance to the character central to the film’s underlying tension.
- Release Date:
- TBA
The movie is expected to be released sometime this year, although a specific date has not been announced yet. With Crowe’s involvement and Netflix’s strategic bet on a proven streaming favorite, Unabom is likely to be a must-watch for a broad streaming audience.