Russell Crowe Gives Pedro Pascal A Serious Run For His Money As The “Internet’s Daddy”

What started as a joke about being the internet’s “Daddy” turned into an internet sensation that has reignited conversation about the importance of fathers and father figures. In shows like The Last of Us and The Mandalorian, Pascal plays a masculine, protective figure who puts the safety of a child before all else. Pascal’s father figures are loving, even when they are tough on their young charge, and present, even when they are slow to speak.

The good news is this: Joel Miller isn’t the first strong father figure to be found on television. Movies and books are littered with men who embody the best parts of masculinity because, deep inside us, we feel a natural desire for a father who provides and protects. Because this desire is deeply rooted in our nature, it’s crucial that we make space in our stories to celebrate the virtues of fatherhood. 

Luckily, we don’t have to wait for Pedro Pascal to return to the screen before we can enjoy positive portrayals of strong fathers again. In the early 2000s, these lovably gruff and virtuous men were played by Russell Crowe, an Australian actor who earned an Oscar for his performance in the 2000 blockbuster Gladiator (but more on that later).

While Crowe’s career has fallen on tough times with several box office disappointments, most recently in Thor: Love & Thunder, his performances in films like Cinderella Man or Master and Commander centered on strong, masculine figures who are a force for good in the world. Here are a few of our favorites.

Cinderella Man: The Father Who Delights in Providing for His Family

Cinderella Man tells the true story of heavyweight champion James J. Braddock – played by Crowe – who falls on hard times during the Great Depression. Struggling to keep food on the table and to keep his family together, Braddock works the docks of New York by day and boxes with a fractured hand at night.

What makes Braddock admirable though isn’t just his “Cinderella Man” comeback – it’s his dedication to providing for his family. Braddock finds fulfillment in sacrificing for the people he loves. He goes without breakfast so his daughter Rosie can eat his portion. He swallows his pride and asks his old friends in the boxing business to help him collect the money to turn his electricity on again. Crowe’s performance captures the sincerity of Braddock’s actions without becoming too sentimental. 

Early in the film, Braddock’s son Jay steals a salami from their local butcher. But after he makes his son return the stolen item, Braddock waits and listens to him. Recognizing that his son acted out of fear of being sent away, he teaches his son a valuable lesson about doing what is right even when things are hard by making a promise himself: that he will never send them away from home.

Cinderella Man also spotlights the romance of life after marriage – even if that life brings significant challenges. Braddock and his wife Mae (Renée Zellweger) are deeply in love when times are good, and that doesn’t change when they’re facing poverty and hunger.

That also doesn’t mean they always agree – the couple often argues about how to face these trials, arguments which draw them closer together as a couple. Mae worries about her husband boxing in matches that could take his life, telling him that “every time you get hit, feels like I’m getting hit too.” But despite her hesitations, she shows up to support him. After all, she repeats his own words to her, “You can’t win without me behind you.”

Cinderella Man is available for streaming on the Starz channel.

Master and Commander: The Father Who Leads with a Spirit of Adventure and Patriotism

Crowe here plays Captain Jack Aubrey, an adventurer on the high seas. Captain Aubrey is a British naval officer on a quest: to find and defeat the French vessel Acheron during the Napoleonic Wars. Driven by the spirit of exploration and a love for king and country, Captain Aubrey and the crew of his HMS Surprise circuit a large portion of the globe in pursuit.

Captain Aubrey isn’t a father himself (at least, not in the film!), but he acts as a father figure to many of the younger men on his ship. In the first battle of the film, a young midshipman called Lord Blakeney loses part of his arm. With great nuance, Crowe portrays the mixed emotions of the adoptive father figure as he seeks to inspire the lad with stories of the great admiral Lord Nelson, another one-armed seaman – all while privately mourning the tragedy striking such a young child.

Aubrey also holds his men to a strict standard of discipline. When one of the lower ranking sailors disrespects Mr. Hollom, another midshipman, Captain Aubrey penalizes the sailor. He later coaches Hollom on the nature of true leadership. The common soldiers aren’t looking for friendship, he says, they want a leader who is worthy of the respect that they owe his position.

Master and Commander also depicts the importance of male friendship in helping a man to be a good leader. Captain Aubrey’s best friend is the ship’s doctor Stephen Maturin, played excellently by Paul Bettany. Maturin is Aubrey’s partner in evening musical serenades, and above all the voice of reason that keeps Aubrey balanced in his obsessive search for the French frigate. Aubrey is a better leader to his men because his friend pushes back against his craziest ideas, and together they are able to achieve a greater adventure than either could do alone.

Master and Commander: Far Side of the World is available for streaming on Apple TV+.

Gladiator: The Father Who Chooses What Is Right over His Own Desires

This one doesn’t just make the list because Pedro Pascal was recently cast in the long anticipated sequel Gladiator 2, though that’s reason enough for me! Crowe here plays Maximus, a general of ancient Rome who is betrayed into slavery and becomes a gladiator. 

In most of the film, we see Maximus on the other side of grief – a father whose wife and son have been taken from him by the villainous Commodus. But while he is initially out for revenge, Maximus changes when he meets young Lucius, the grandson of Marcus Aurelius, the emperor Maximus once served. 

What does Lucius admire about Maximus? Much the same thing that Maximus’s fellow gladiators do. Maximus isn’t just a flashy swordsman and a pretty face (though, let’s be real, he is both of those). Maximus puts the needs of his men before his own, which allows him to turn a group of untrained gladiators into a united army.

Maximus also is not swayed by the opinion of a crowd, but is instead ruled by his conscience. In a climactic battle, Maximus is given the thumbs up sign to kill the gladiator he has defeated. Disgusted by the bloodlust around him, Maximus refuses to kill the man – ironically increasing his popularity under the moniker “Maximus the Merciful.”

Gladiator is available for streaming on Paramount+.

Man of Steel: The Father Who Speaks Beyond the Grave

Everybody loves Superman, but something I love about Zack Snyder’s version of the Superman origin story is its focus on Clark’s relationship with his parents. Clark Kent’s journey to becoming Superman in the film unfolds as he learns to embrace the legacy left him by both sets of parents, human and Kryptonian. 

In the scene above, Jor-El explains the significance of Kal’s life and his escape to earth. Kal was born as a symbol of free will and hope in a civilization plagued by artificial birth control. By passing the symbol of the house of El, which means “hope,” to his son, Jor-El gives Clark the hope he needs to become Superman. The scene is a beautiful reminder that the true legacy of a virtuous, protective father doesn’t end with his life, but lives on in his children.

Crowe was drawn to the role primarily for his own sons, who attended a screening of the film in Sydney with their dad (“Finally,” he says, “I’ve made a movie they care about!”). In addition to impressing his boys, in this interview from 2013, Crowe explains that he was also attracted to the challenging sacrifice which Jor-El must make. In a moment that requires unthinkable strength, Jor-El must love his only born son enough to give him up. 

Man of Steel is available for streaming on Max.

Closing Thoughts

As both Pedro Pascal and Russell Crowe show us, fatherhood done right is an admirable, noble, and inspiring thing, and we’re hoping for a major resurgence of these kinds of depictions of fatherhood in movies and tv shows. 

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