Russell Crowe was not director Ridley Scott's first choice to play the gladiator. That offer, not incidentally, went to another Australian, Mel Gibson, who told Scott he was "too old, mate." Instead Gibson is playing a more age-appropriate he-man in The Patriot. And isn't that Guy Pearce, another Aussie, all straitlaced machismo in Rules of Engagement? Hollywood has discovered what we Australian women have understood for some time: the discreet charm of the Bloke.
The Bloke is a certain kind of Australian or New Zealand male. (We have other kinds, such as Rupert Murdoch, but we prefer to call them emigres.)...