Al-Qaeda's Target?!

Actor Russell Crowe has revealed that he was the target of an Al-Qaeda terrorist kidnap plan. The star told Austrailian GQ magazine that American secret service agents informed him of the threat in 2001. Crowe told the magazine that it "was the first time in my life that I'd ever heard the phrase al-Qaeda." He said the plot involved "taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as a sort of cultural-destabilisation plan." According to the actor, the plans were discovered during a recorded telephone conversation by French police, in either Libya or Algeria. Crowe said that he initially thought that this was a complex publicity plan to help him win an Oscar. Eventually he realised it was a serious threat. The star attended the Oscar awards that year under heavy surveillance, and won the award for best actor for his role in Gladiator. In picture you can see Danielle Spencer and Russell Crowe arrive at the 74th annual Academy Awards, 2002. [photo: Kevin Sullivan - Corbis]