Sure, Russell Crowe has quit drinking, lost weight and even admitted he loves shopping for baby clothes. But fans of the old, rowdy Crowe will be pleased to know that marriage (to singer-songwriter Danielle Spencer, 33, in April) and pending fatherhood (to a boy, due in January) haven't turned the bad boy into a choir boy. While filming Commander in Mexico last year, "He was fine with the sword fighting, climbing the mast and gunfire," says director Peter Weir. But mastering the violin his character plays? "I've seen him in a rage you wouldn't believe" says Weir, "ready to stamp that damn little piece of wood into the ground." Crowe, 39, says his decision to stop drinking two months ago was simply to help him shape up for his role as a boxer in his next flick, Cinderella Man. "I don't think fatherhood should change a person," he says. But he's already thinking about long-term daddy strategy. "I'm going to-work as hard as I can for the next five years and have him with me as much as possible," he says. After that? "I want to be picking my son up at the school gate."
TOM CRUISE
Plays: An American officer fighting in 19th-century Japan
The Movie: The Last Samurai, out Dec. 5
Tough Guy Tools: Double-fisted swords
Feminine Side: Top-to-toe leather; fetching, though not slimming
RUSSELL CROWE
Plays: A British navy captain in 1805
The Movie: Master and Commander, out Nov. 14
Tough Guy Tools: Cannons and cutlasses
Feminine side: Besides the ruffled blouse? Serenading shipmates on his violin
BRAD PITT
Plays: Achilles
The Movie: Troy, out May 2004
Tough Guy Tools: Spear and shield
Feminine Side: Strappy sandals—and legs as smooth as silk
DENNIS QUAID
Plays: Sam Houston
The Movie: The Alamo, out in 2004
Tough Guy Tool: A rifle
Feminine Side: That white stallion is pretty enough to be a My Little Pony
VIGGO MORTENSEN
Plays: The Hobbits' human helper Aragorn
The Movie: The Lord of the Sings: The Return of the King, out Dec. 17
Tough Guy Tool: A sword
Feminine Side: Still questing for that must-have piece of jewelry
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