Russell Crowe has signed up to take part in a 'Ben Hur' stadium show in Australia.
The 'Robin Hood' star - who won the Best Actor Oscar in 2000 for his role as a Roman soldier in 'Gladiator' - will narrate the $15 million production 'Ben Hur: The Stadium Spectacular', which tells the story of a galley slave who dared to defy the Roman Empire.
The Australian actor is thrilled to be a part of the production but insists he is happy to stay behind the scenes.
He said: "I think there comes a time in every gladiator's life when you've got to give the reins over to the next bloke.
"It's a gigantic production. It's so ambitious and I just had to get involved. It's a hoot."
The 46-year-old Hollywood star also revealed what the audience can expect from the action-packed show, which is based on the Charlton Heston movie 'Ben-Hur'.
He said: "It's not a play. It's not a musical. It's a spectacle. And you know you've got your chariot races, you've got a boat being boarded by female pirates, Pontius Pilate making his decision over Christ's future, so it's gigantic, it's amazing."
It is believed the actor - who has two sons, Charles, six, and four-year-old Tennyson, with wife Danielle Spencer - agreed to take part in the show so he could spend time with his family in Sydney, where it is being staged.
More than 2 000 performers will take part in the production, which was originally staged in France in 2006.
