Originally Posted by
JBDuke
Now, as to Russell Crowe. I don't think Hooper handled him well. Crowe was one of the weaker singers in the cast, IMO. But he's a really good actor, and he did a masterful job of acting Javert. Where he fell short a bit was in singing Javert's songs. But Hooper didn't help him very much, either. Javert's big numbers are "Stars" and "Javert's Suicide". Hooper didn't figure out a way to allow Crowe to sing these songs small, like he did for "I Dreamed a Dream" and "Who Am I?". If he had, I suspect Crowe could have carried them off. But I can't even THINK of a way that you could stage "Stars" in that small fashion. "Stars" is Javert swearing with all his passion that he will pursue Valjean to the end of his days. It really does call for a big, powerful, baritone voice to sing it to the max, and Crowe just wasn't up to it. For "Javert's Suicide", Crowe was able to masterfully act the internal conflict and desperation in Javert as he contemplates a life in the world of Jean Valjean and decides he can't stand it. That allowed him to overcome his vocal limitations and still make that scene an excellent one, IMO. Likewise, I think he did a fine job with Jackman in "The Confrontation". And in the rest of the film, Crowe's superior acting talent and physical power let him inhabit the Javert role with real aplomb.