Russell Crowe tells magazine al-Qaida wanted to kidnap him

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) _ Russell Crowe says Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network wanted to kidnap him as part of a ``cultural destabilization plot,'' according to an Australian magazine.

Wednesday, March 9th 2005, 8:30 am

By: News On 6

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) _ Russell Crowe says Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida terror network wanted to kidnap him as part of a ``cultural destabilization plot,'' according to an Australian magazine.

In an interview published in the March edition of Australia's GQ magazine, Crowe said FBI agents told him of the threat in 2001, in the months before he won a best actor Oscar for his role as Maximus in ``Gladiator.''

``That was the first (time) I'd ever heard the phrase 'al-Qaida,''' Crowe said. ``It was about _ and here's another little touch of irony _ taking iconographic Americans out of the picture as sort of a cultural destabilization plot,'' he added.

Crowe was born in New Zealand and has a ranch in eastern Australia but made his name in Hollywood.

It was not clear if there were other targets in the plot.

Crowe said he was shadowed by FBI agents after the threat and hired private security guards.