Talking about Russell Crowe, the whole wide world directs its eyes at the glamor of Hollywood. Needless to say, the actor has established himself in the cinematic universe with his phenomenal performance in movies like ‘Gladiator’, ‘A Beautiful Mind’, ‘The Exorcism’, and many more.

But acting wasn’t the first thing that Crowe opted for as a career. Talking to Joe Rogan about his career, Crowe revealed that his interests initially lay in the realm of music. On episode #2191 of the Joe Rogan Experience, the 56YO podcaster invited Crowe to the studio for a 3-hour-long talk. But the first things that Crowe crossed off of his list included his work experience as a disco Jockey. It is quite shocking to imagine a Hollywood phenom trying out his luck in nightclubs, right?

Crowe said, “I was going to go into music. That was my thing. You know, if I was going to pursue anything, it was going to be music. But basically, I would accept any job that allowed me to be in the position of entertaining people. So, that’s why I went into the nightclub thing with the, being a DJ.” However, his first night as a DJ was a failure. And the reasons pointed at his inability to talk. 

He lost the job the second time as well. But the world has a mysterious way of making things work. Crowe narrated, “The second time around, I’d audition for this place but they hadn’t given me the job. They gave it to somebody else. But they ended up firing him after two nights because him and the guy that ran the club didn’t get on, you know.”

So how did Crowe turn around his career in the world of disco jockeying? Let’s find out!

Russell Crowe tells Joe Rogan about his time as a nightclub DJ

It was a Sunday afternoon when Crowe received a phone call from the nightclub asking him if he would DJ at the club. But there was a catch! All the club had was a bunch of records that had nothing but songs from the 1950s. And with just one plastic orange turn table, it was pretty difficult for the young DJ. After all, he was forced to face his nemesis and talk on the microphone after the end of every song. 

“So, I have to talk because everytime a song finished I have to pick up this needle, the arm, pick up the record, you know, get the next one, put it down, then put things… So, it was just a crazy circumstance. It was like, it was created to make sure that I absolutely broke through whatever that fear was immediately, now that I had another chance, you know,” Crowe revealed.

But soon, things began to turn for the better for the actor. Staying at the nightclub for about 4 years, he expanded his horizons from working as a DJ to performing live on stage. Yes! Russell Crowe even performed his original songs on stage at the nightclub. With orders to perform songs that nobody else knew about, Crowe’s career witnessed massive changes as he found his way to Hollywood.

Needless to say, Rogan was pretty impressed with Crowe’s story. But did you know about the Hollywood star’s life as a musician and what you make of it? Let us know in the comments down below.