Russell Crowe Piles On The Pounds

London: It seems that Australian star Russell Crowe has been binging as the actor, known for histoned physique as Maximus Meridius in Gladiator, has become portly.

The Oscar-winning star seemed to have packed on the pounds when he appeared at a charity cricket match in Christchurch, New Zealand, over the weekend.

The 46-year-old star's appearance was a far cry from the days of Gladiator or his more recent roles such as 2010's Robin Hood and the recent The Next Three Days.

Crowe had put on over 60lb to play a CIA chief in the 2008 film Body Of Lies but his latest appearance looks effortless.

Crowe has admitted in the past that it wasn't difficult for him to gain weight. "At my age, I have to watch everything I eat. I have to be really disciplined. If you take off those disciplines, all hell breaks loose. And it happens pretty quickly," he had said.

The actor was in Christchurch, the birthplace of his father and uncles, to support the victims of the recent earthquake. "It's very disheartening. I worked down there in 1986. I was in a theatre tour at the Theatre Royal and the ceiling's now fallen in. It's very sad," he said.

The actor recently finished filming the action drama The Man With The Iron Fists and is also rumored to be taking the lead in a remake of the 70s hit Westworld.