EXCLUSIVE: Inside the infamous fight between Russell Crowe and his bodyguard Mark 'Spudd' Carroll - and why he changed his face to look like the NRL hardman

Rugby league great Mark 'Spudd' Carroll has revealed how his busted nose and bent ears were used to help make Russell Crowe look like a heavyweight boxer in a film. 

Carroll worked as a personal trainer and sometime bodyguard for the league-loving Hollywood superstar after his retirement from professional football.

The front-rower accompanied Crowe to Canada to shoot Cinderella Man, about the 1930s fighter James Braddock, and crew members assumed he was going to be the actor's body double.

Carroll was not destined to appear on screen but such was his resemblance to Braddock that casts were taken of his facial features to be used on Crowe for the movie.

During the shoot Carroll mixed with Crowe's co-star Renée Zellweger and director Ron Howard, met legendary boxing trainer Angelo Dundee and once sang an Elvis medley in front of Sting. 

Rugby league great Mark 'Spudd' Carroll has revealed how his busted nose and bent ears were used to help make Russell Crowe look like a heavyweight boxer in a film. He is pictured with wife Monique and daughter Indianna

Carroll worked as a personal trainer and sometime bodyguard for the league-loving Hollywood superstar after his retirement from professional football. The two men are pictured at Sydney's Allianz Stadium on September 12, 2014 when Souths thumped Manly 40-24

The front-rower accompanied Crowe to Canada to shoot Cinderella Man, about the 1930s fighter James Braddock, and crew members assumed he was going to be the actor's body double. Crowe is pictured playing Braddock in a fight scene from the film

Carroll, one of the toughest players to ever take to a rugby league field, describes his times with Crowe in his new book, Spudd: The Mark Carroll Story, written with sports journalist Adam Hawse. 

The nickname Spudd - which began as Spud - can be traced to Carroll's pre-game ritual of eating 16 potatoes in the mistaken belief it would improve his energy levels. 

Daily Mail Australia has obtained an exclusive extract of Spudd featuring some of Carroll's antics with the Academy Award winner, which is published below.  

Among the tales, 54-year-old Carroll deals with a famous altercation he had with Crowe at a party while the actor was filming Cinderella Man in 2004.

Crowe has previously admitted he started a fight with Carroll after taking offence at something he said about a conversation the actor was having with a female extra. 

'Spud and I had a push around after work on a Friday night,' Crowe wrote to a newspaper at the time. 

'I thought he was accusing me specifically of something and I took offence to it.  Spud was passing on other people's "perceptions" and I shot the messenger.

'Luckily for me, the sequences we were shooting required me to wear heavy post boxing make-up, so you couldn't tell.' 

'My beloved "SPUDD" number plates and me in my Kangaroos kit in 1990 at Redfern Oval,' Carroll writes in his new book. 'When I joined Manly, "Bozo" Fulton told me the plates had to go!' Carroll played 88 games for Manly under coach Bob Fulton from 1994 to 1997

Remembered as a rugby league enforcer who would do anything to help his sides to victory, Carroll is best known for his time in the South Sydney and Manly jumpers.

His battles with Newcastle rival Paul 'Chief' Harragon, with whom Carroll refused to share a room when they played for New South Wales, feature in brutal game highlights reels. 

Carroll played 202 games from 1987 to 1999, ran out for 12 Test matches for Australia and appeared seven times in State of Origin for the Blues.

He played in three grand finals, winning a premiership with Manly in 1996. 

'Carroll's tough reputation is matched only by his honesty,' the book's publisher states. 'Spudd calls it as he sees it and doesn’t care who he upsets in the process.'

Those qualities caught the eye of Crowe, the Souths fan turned club owner, who hired the fitness fanatic to get him into shape for upcoming movie roles. 

'Being part of Russell’s entourage opened doors to a world I could only dream about. A kid from Greystanes rubbing shoulders with two-time Oscar winner Renee Zellweger. Somebody pinch me!'

The pair, who remain firm friends, met when Crowe walked into the Souths change rooms before a game against the Warriors at the Sydney Football Stadium in July 1999.

Crowe was accompanied by fellow actor Tom Cruise and Carroll was star-struck - but he did not even recognise the man who would soon become globally famous in Gladiator. 

Carroll did admire Crowe's Rolex Submariner, the pair exchanged phone numbers, and they stayed in touch.

Four years after Carroll retired from the NRL in 1999 he played a season for Crowe's local rugby league club, the Orara Axemen, on the NSW north coast.

That led to Carroll becoming Crowe's personal trainer for more than eight years and looking after some of his security work. 

Crowe would also encourage Carroll to set up his own gym at Woolloomooloo in Sydney's inner city, and even suggested he call it Spudds. 

Four years after Carroll retired from the NRL in 1999 he played a season for Crowe's local rugby league club, the Orara Axemen, on the NSW north coast. He is pictured with wife Monique 

The following is an edited extract of Spudd: The Mark Carroll Story by Mark Carroll with Adam Hawse, published by Penguin Random House Australia:  

From the day I turned up with Russell for the shooting of Cinderella Man, I noticed something a little strange. Straight away Russell told me to go to the make-up caravan. I figured this was simply to get some instructions on what they would need me to do during filming.

Next thing the make-up artists were telling me to sit in the chair. They went to work on me, making casts of my bent nose and ears that had been 'cauliflowered' by a lifetime of packing into scrums.

Crowe as Braddock traded cinematic blows with Polish-born Canadian boxer Art Binkowski who played American heavyweight John 'Corn' Griffin in their fight at Madison Square Garden

It was actually an interesting experience, even if I couldn't work out exactly what was going on. When I was done, I went for a walk and introduced myself to all these new people I'd be working with for the next six months.

Quite a few asked if I was Russell's 'double'. A double is the guy who jumps in for all the boring tasks like framing and lighting, while the real star is rehearsing his lines or getting made up.

I'd say, 'Yeah, good one,' every time someone asked.

Boxer James Braddock whose story was told in Cinderella Man is pictured about 1937 

Then I noticed some photos pinned up on a wall of James Braddock aka the 'Cinderella Man' - the boxer Russell was playing in the movie. Suddenly I knew what everyone was talking about. And why they were making replicas of my facial features.

I looked just like him. Right down to the cauliflower ears!

James Braddock and I could have been others the way we looked. It was incredible. The casts they taking of my were nose and ears were actually to use on Russell in the movie.

He said to me later, 'Why do you think I got you over here?'

The master trainer, Angelo Dundee, agreed. 'I knew it - you are James Braddock!'

It was kind of a special that I shared such a likeness to the hero of a big budget Hollywood movie.

Braddock's son came on set one day. He said to me, 'Has can anyone ever told you … you look a lot like my old man?'

He then told his children, 'This is what your grandad looked like.'

It was just one of those crazy moments in life.

'I was like a starry eyed kid when I met lead guitarist of Guns N’ Roses, Slash. I'd been introduced to him at a production of The Footy Show earlier in the week. When he saw me backstage at the 2014 grand final, he sang out, "Hey, big fella." A huge thrill'

I liken my time in Canada filming Cinderella Man to a Kangaroo Tour - on steroids! Watching one of the best actors in the world transform his body and mind into that of a boxer was an incredible experience. And the people I met - boy, oh boy.

One night, after we went to a Sting concert in Toronto, a big group of us headed back to the top floor of our hotel where a room was all decked out for us. Sting himself even paid a visit.

Also there were Renée Zellweger, Paul Giamatti and Ron Howard, while singer Annie Lennox dropped in as well.

Russell had hired a Spanish band to entertain everyone for the night - imagine how they felt performing in front of Sting and Lennox. No pressure at all!

'I met some amazing people during my career. Here I am (that's me with the blond tips) with Sir Richard Branson, who was owner of the Broncos.' Carroll played 18 for the London Broncos in 1998

I asked one of the band members if they could mix things up a bit. He suggested that I should have a crack. By this stage I had knocked down a few drinks, so I thought why not? The next question was, 'What the hell do I play in front of this esteemed crowd?'

Thankfully, as I've mentioned I do have some musical genes and I decided to play an Elvis-inspired medley that I'd performed at my dad's 60th birthday party. It included 'Jail house Rock', 'Blue Suede Shoes' and 'Hound Dog', before finishing with 'Wild Thing' by The Troggs. It seemed to go okay, but maybe the alcohol was clouding my judgement.

Spudd: The Mark Carroll Story by Mark Carroll with Adam Hawse, is published by Penguin Random House Australia

The next day I was some crew members at a noodle bar and who should we run into but Sting himself? I was wondering if he'd remember me from the party. Then he came up to me.

'I quite enjoyed your song last night.'

You could have knocked me over with a feather. The great Sting, winner of 17 Grammy awards, complimenting me on my music.

I asked him why he didn't come up and jam with me on stage, but he said his throat was a bit crook. It was probably an excuse, but I didn't care. I was talking with Sting in a Canadian noodle bar! Who would have predicted that when I came off the bench for the Panthers back in round 1 of 1987?

Among the many highlights of that trip, there was one small negative. A late-night wrestle between Russell and myself somehow made front-page news back home, beaten up into some sort of wild fight. Even Mum rang me up, asking all sorts of questions.

It was nothing like that. What we did was no worse than what plenty of blokes have done after a few drinks.

When we landed in Sydney there were cameras snapping away, trying to get a pic of the 'feuding' friends. But when we appeared in the terminal, I picked Russell up playfully and raised my arm like I was saluting victory from our wrestle.

Crowe encouraged Carroll to set up his own gym at Woolloomooloo in Sydney's inner city, and even suggested he call it Spudds. Carroll is pictured outside the gym

Cinderella Man was done, but Russell still had the boxing bug. He told me find a gym to rent, so we could continue to work out together.

I let him know a little place on Crown Street in Woolloomooloo. Next, he strongly suggested I turn it into my own business. My own gym. I scoffed at the idea, but he insisted, saying he'd seen me work with hundreds of crew members on set and was confident I could do it.

'What do you want to call it?' he asked.

As I began warming to the idea, I told him I liked the name 'Braddock's'.

'Nup,' he said. It has got to be called 'Spudds'.'

On a roll with his idea, Russell quickly drew up the name

'Spudds' in the font that still sits proudly across the front of my gym to this very day. He'd seen enough of me to know what I should do with my future and how to make it happen.

Every Christmas, I send Russell an email, thanking him for his vision.

Spudd: The Mark Carroll Story by Mark Carroll with Adam Hawse, is published by Penguin Random House Australia and available here. RRP: $34.99 

'Enjoying a win with MG on the Kangaroo Tour. It was the trip of a lifetime and "Blocker" Roach nicknamed us ‘Smash and Crash’ for our tough tackling. The locals didn’t like us much.' Carroll is pictured right with Penrith hard man Mark Geyer left