RUSSELL CROWE has paid tribute to the drama teacher who inspired him to become a performer at the tender age of 10.
Crowe claims Australian ELIZABETH MORGAN discovered his creative talents and gave him the confidence to express himself with MICHAEL JACKSON songs and plays he had written about death and destruction in which "everyone was dead by the end".
The actor gushes, "I'll always value what she did for me. She activated all the creative things inside me.
"Ms Morgan asked me to sing once. I sang BEN by MICHAEL JACKSON. She looked me in the eye and said: 'That was a very special performance.'"