Russell Crowe almost turned down stalker role in Unhinged

Russell Crowe has confessed he came close to rejecting his starring role in new thriller Unhinged because he couldn't find any good in his vengeful stalker character.

The 56-year-old Oscar winner was initially disgusted by the opportunity when he was presented with the role of The Man, who decides to make a harassed mum's life hell following a road rage incident.

"I first thought, to be completely honest with you, (there's) absolutely no way in the world I'm doing this movie," Crowe revealed during an interview on Australian programme The Project, adding he felt the film touched a nerve about people who go too far.

"Whether it's something as extreme as somebody walking into a place of worship with a gun or a nightclub or whatever, this kind of character with humanity drained is becoming, it would seem, something that we now have to deal with on a regular basis," Crowe said.

He continued: "A year ago, I would have said, 'It's a genre movie'... Now, it seems to be some kind of resonant poem about the situation that we find ourselves in."

Unhinged, which also stars Caren Pistorius and Gabriel Bateman, will be released to theatres in the U.S. on 31 July.