Oscar-winner Russell Crowe is losing the battle of the bulge — and doctors warn he’s facing a deadly health crisis! As these exclusive photos show, the once-hunky “Gladiator” star is now as bloated as a beach ball! “Russell looks like he’s 270 pounds!” estimated an eyewitness. “He has a history of gaining and losing weight for movies, but he just can’t seem to get rid of the extra pounds this time.” The 5-foot-11 father of two put himself through punishing fitness regimens to get ripped for 2000’s “Gladiator” and 2005’s “Cinderella Man.”
But he gained 63 pounds for 2008’s “Body of Lies,” and by August 2015, while filming “The Nice Guys,” Russell admitted: “I was 268 pounds!” He added: “At my age, I have to watch everything I eat. If not, all hell breaks loose!” Doctors blame his roller-coaster waistline for putting the New Zealand native — who boasts a newly shaved head — at higher risk for a litany of life-threatening ailments.
