Cooperating with authorities is a departure for the headstrong Crowe. A high school dropout who, by his own admission, was "an embarrassment" to his parents, caterers Alex and Jocelyn Crowe, he has been known to stomp off sets when he doesn't get his way. His willingness to work with the G-men may owe something to his experience working on Proof. Shortly before the film's U.S. premiere, Crowe said at a press briefing that when he first received the script he knew little about kidnapping. Then he launched into an informed discourse about the "K and R business" -- professional security lingo for kidnap and ransom -- peppered with information he had learned from K and R specialists while shooting the film. As for kidnappers, Crowe said, "I don't think I can sympathize with this particular way of getting your point across."

FBI takes it seriously

If Crowe is an unwitting victim, he is not an improbable one. Though U.S. kidnappings are on the decline (in contrast to the global trend), celebrities remain an obvious target. "It's not unusual to have a threat like that, especially when you're dealing with high-profile people," says the FBI's Bosley. "It's not unusual, especially in Los Angeles, where most of them live or at least visit." Author Auerbach says she was not surprised by the threat against Crowe. When she was researching her book, she says she was warned that she could become a target of kidnappers wanting to make a name for themselves by abducting a journalist investigating their activity. "So," she says, "when (Crowe's) movie came out, I thought, 'He's getting a lot more publicity and attention for that movie than I got. Oh my God, this guy is a target!' "

Last week a discreet but tight cordon of security personnel attended Crowe as he maintained a busy schedule of pre-Oscar appearances. On March 9, following two special screenings of Gladiator in L.A., at least two security guards kept close watch on him as he fielded giggly questions from a largely female audience. Two nights later Crowe was surrounded by guards as he chatted with Kate Winslet and Joaquin Phoenix at the party following the Screen Actors Guild Awards (where Crowe lost to Traffic's Benicio Del Toro in the Best Actor category).