In it, he plays a Los Angeles detective, Bud White, who becomes embroiled in a corruption scandal in the early '50s as the city is trying to establish itself as America's most desirable place to live.

For Crowe, an era of Los Angeles that was bulldozed away decades ago and since been built over time and is a long way from his private life on the NSW coast north of Sydney.

Playing an American isn't exactly how most Australians would see him, particularly after award-winning performances in local productions like the controversial Romper Stomper and Proof.

But of Crowe's 18 films, six have been filmed in the US, with another in Guatemala. LA Confidential, directed by Curtis Hanson, is the film which undoubtedly will be Crowe's big break, the one that will put him on the path to international fame.

In fact, fame is something which he has already achieved, thanks as much to his Australian work as the films he has made in the US, among them Virtuosity, with Denzel Washington, and The Quick and The Dead, a stylish western in which he co-starred with Sharon Stone and Gene Hackman.

LA Confidential again puts his name up high with some established American talent in Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey and the glamorous Kim Basinger.The film also stars another Australian Guy Pearce.

But Crowe says that he does not aspire to a specific character or type of role."I like to deal with things in front of me," he says: "I read everything that gets sent to me, but I"m not sure of any aims or goals other than perfection of the art form."

But one thing that movies like LA Confidential do allow is for Crowe to win "attention from the people I want to work with." So far, it has worked well, with his next American film giving him the chance to play an ice-skating sheriff in Alaska.

But back to Los Angeles circa early '50's, with Crowe spending two months of research to fill the shoes of his character Bud White.He was that his request was granted, expecting to be told he would have "a couple of days for rehearsal."

The research period was spent in Los Angeles, looking at old films, documentary footage about the history of the Los Angeles Police Department, and even training films.Time was also devoted to dialect work and some on-the-job training where he spent time on patrol with members of the force.

"I've a lot of respect for anyone who wears a badge in the name of law and order, but it's not something I could do" he freely admits.

Born in New Zealand the son of film location caterers, Crowe moved to Australia when he was four and has called himself an Australian ever since - "except when the All Blacks are playing." For 10 years, the family traveled from location to location until his father took over as manager of a hotel.

"We lived in about 14 different places in the first 10 years," Crowe says.Desperate to play sport, he had his parents check out the local schools so that he could play as many kinds of football as possible, and every weekend would line up for his school in rugby union and league as well as play for the local club.

But the theatre beckoned and Crowe hears the call, going on to the theatre circuit before his break into films. He spent three years working in Melbourne, where he found another code of football and now counts himself a devoted Richmond supporter.

Despite his home in Australia, he has been dating an American girl for about 18 months, which he says a surprise in itself because, "I'm such a parochial bastard. She's not your blonde beach girl," he says of the unnamed born-and-bred Californian.

Then, almost apologetically, he admits: "I met her in a gym.I was there building up those big Bud White muscles and I noticed she was not doing her triceps correctly.

"I asked 'Can I talk to you about your form.'" Luckily for Crowe the line worked and the first date was his birthday, so he has no trouble remembering it either.

After two months of research, Crowe spent six months on the shoot of LA Confidential and another six weeks on post-production.Since May, he's been living and breathing, the film as a walking, talking spokesman for interviews like this.

But not for long: starting November 16, Crowe is back into the fray with preparation for his ice-skating sheriff's role. The job will take him to Pittsburgh, where he will become involved with the local National Hockey League side the Penguins, and then to Canada, and he's excited about a film with a sports theme.

"I like to think of myself as Australian," he says."I'm sports mad, but I can get enough there because I like the AFL, league and rugby union"

He admits to driving half an hour and then spending $20 to watch a rugby union match on a big screen at a bar in Santa Monica.

"I had to develop a taste for US sports," he admits.

Crowe says that directing will be a natural progression, and he's keen to ultimately try his hand at it. Maybe keener than he admits, because when asked if he has any special project in mind, he coolly responds: "nothing I want to talk about - not yet!"

For now, he's happy to talk about LA Confidential and its imminent success in Australia.He admits to being a fan of the late Steve McQueen, citing Junior Bonner and Papillon as his two favorites.

There's a touch or irony in that, because The Hollywood Reporter newspaper recently called Crowe "the New Steve McQueen."

He casually comments: "I've been compared to about 19 different people so far, eventually it'll be to Donald Duck."

He believes that as an Australian, he can see things about American culture which Americans fail to see, ultimately influencing how he plays the character