18. Russell Crowe, Michigan Wolverines
Russell Crowe is one of the most accomplished actors of the past few decades. He’s delivered iconic performances in movies like Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind, roles that also helped him win Academy Awards. While that’s certainly what he’s best known for, what some people might not know is that the well-versed actor is a big fan of the Michigan Wolverines.
Though Crowe’s fandom falls a little bit under the radar, that’s not because of his ties to the program at all, but more just because many people don’t know the story behind his quickly developing ties to the Wolverines.
Back before the Jim Harbaugh era — well before, to be exact — Crowe actually became good, close friends with then head coach Lloyd Carr. The former head man for the Maize and Blue essentially recruited the Oscar-winning actor to become a fan of the team hailing from Ann Arbor and Crowe, to his credit, answered the call. In fact, the actor actually helped talk to the team on a couple of occasions in the mid-2000s alongside Carr and was seen on the field with the Wolverines several other times as well.
There’s a chance that, since Carr departed Michigan, Crowe’s fandom might’ve cooled off a bit, or at least he’s not as close with the current head coach. Then again, you have to imagine that Harbaugh isn’t the easiest person to befriend, even for someone who has the fame and acting pedigree of Crowe.