Charlie Allan, actor and stunt co-ordinator and close friend of Russell Crowe, has reached his £25,000 fundraising target for life-changing treatment, thanks to a little help from the original Gladiator star.
Allan who teaches and performs combat in film and television, injured his leg while building an access platform in his gym, leaving him with an arterial thrombosis diagnosis (where a blood clot develops in the artery).
Russell Crowe and Charlie Allan worked together on the original Gladiator, and Robin Hood.
This injury left Allan requiring an Endovascular Thrombectomy, a procedure which he hopes to have in Europe, costing around £25,000.
The fundraising page itself, was set up bye Allan's friends Randy Dedrickson and Stewart Flora.
The page reads: “Let’s unite to help restore not only Charlie’s health but also his spirit and the joy of being with his family and contributing to the wider community".
“Thank you for considering this opportunity to make a meaningful impact on Charlie’s life".
A GoFundMe appeal was set up, as well as an appeal on social media, which saw Russell Crowe donate £5,000 of his own money to it, helping Allan reach his target.
Donating this money, Russell Crowe tweeted: "If you ever saw the first Gladiator, the barbarian leader who tosses the severed head of a Roman emissary back towards the Roman line in a display of defiance, is Charlie Allan. We also worked together on Robin Hood. He is a great bloke & a good friend".
Reacting to this kind gesture, Allan said: “Yeah it was a big surprise because I asked him not to (donate)! He’s been kind to me in so many ways. I never ask Russell for anything".
“I get inundated with people throwing scripts at me wanting me to ask Russell to read the script – which I don’t do – and I guess that’s why we are friends. Because I respect his privacy and I respect him as a friend", he continued.
“I’ve never pressured him for anything, so against my wishes he donated anyway but he also did what I asked him to do and put it out there on his X account.
“I’m very humbled, it means everything to me. The level of support and love has just been quite overwhelming to be honest".
Speaking of Gladiator, current star Paul Mescal recently said that director Ridley Scott is already working on a third movie from the franchise. More on this here.
