Russell Crowe has signed to star in helmer John Polson's indie thriller "Tenderness" for GreeneStreet Films reports Variety.
Crowe will film the project in May, then work on Universal's "American Gangster" in July, and follows that up with Baz Luhrmann's untitled period epic, opposite Nicole Kidman, early next year.
"Tenderness" was adapted by scribe Emil Stern from the novel by Robert Cormier, and follows a violent teenager, Eric, whose life intertwines with Lori, a 16-year-old runaway who can't resist his charm. Crowe will play Lieutenant Cristofuoro, a cop who sets out to unravel Eric's complex past.
Crowe and Polson first worked together playing soldiers in the World War II pic "Prisoners of the Sun" in 1990, and most famously played young gay lovers in 1997's "The Sum of Us".
