Russell Crowe Swings By Oak Park

Kiwi tough guy Russell Crowe was bicycling through Oak Park on his way to Chicago over the weekend when he made a quick cameo at Circle Theatre.

Russell, apparently staying in the Naperville area during shooting of the next installment of the Superman series, dropped in on the theater building, 1010 W. Madison St., on Saturday.

According to Wednesday Journal, Crowe "became familiar with Circle Theatre through a colleague in the movie business, Oak Park's Catherine Ferraro, who worked as a double for actors on different film sets."

The pair hit it off and remained friends, prompting a friendship that later resulted in a $50,000 donation to the theatre group — and Saturday's surprise appearance.

In a June 26 tweet, Crowe wrote "Madison St was interesting," likely a follow-up to a tweet the day before saying he'd ridden from Naperville to Lake Michigan.