Russell Crowe got candid at the recent Karlovy Vary Film Festival in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, telling journalists that he was contemplating his future in acting.
The celebrated actor and musician, 59, talked about getting reflective about his career and indicated that a retirement from the profession wasn't completely off the table.
"You are standing in front of the mirror, and go, 'Who the [expletive] is that?'" he said, as per Variety. "I am in that period now.
"I will take Ridley Scott as my role model: he is still discovering new things in his work," he said of his former Gladiator director. "Or I will just stop and you will never hear from me again. I haven't decided what it's going to be. These are two very valid choices."
MORE: Russell Crowe pleads with fans after his mum is left in tears during family holiday in Italy
Russell began his professional acting career in 1986 with a New Zealand production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and followed that up with bit parts in TV shows like Neighbours.
He made his film debut in the 1990 Australian film The Crossing before transitioning to North American cinema, gaining his first bit of acclaim in 1999 with The Insider.
MORE: Russell Crowe makes very rare public appearance with his girlfriend
The latter garnered him his first of three consecutive Oscar nominations for Best Actor, which included a nod for 2001's A Beautiful Mind and a win in 2000 for Ridley's epic historical drama Gladiator.
Building on its success (it also won Best Picture at the Oscars), Gladiator is receiving the sequel treatment. Gladiator 2 is scheduled for release on November 22, 2024, with Ridley set to return and the cast to feature Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielsen (returning from the original), and more.
MORE: Russell Crowe's two children star in very rare family photo
Someone who won't be in the upcoming sequel, however, is its Oscar-winning original lead, and Russell has been open about his feelings toward the move.
At the same event, where he accepted an award for outstanding contribution to global cinema, the New Zealand-born actor stated: "They should be [expletive] paying me for the amount of questions I am asked about a film I am not even in.
"It has nothing to do with me. In that world, I am dead. Six feet under. But I do admit to a certain tinge of jealousy, because it reminds me of when I was younger and what it meant for me, in my life."
MORE: Russell Crowe shares heartbreaking family news with his fans
He continued: "I don't know anything about the cast, I don't know anything about the plot. I am dead! But I know that if Ridley has decided to do a second part of the story, over 20 years later, he must have had very strong reasons. I can't think of this movie being anything other than spectacular."
He similarly told Collider in April: "It's something that changed my life, really. It changed the way people regarded me and what I do for a living, and, you know, I've been very lucky to be involved in lots of big movies, but the legs on that film are incredible.
"Here it is, it's 2023, and we made that film in 1999. I guarantee you, somewhere around the world tonight, Gladiator is going to be showing on primetime TV."