Rebel Wilson recalls awkward first meeting with Russell Crowe

Rebel Wilson joked about her first encounter with Russell Crowe as she presented an AACTA Award on Wednesday.

During the 2021 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) Awards, the Gladiator actor introduced the Pitch Perfect star, who was presenting the award for Best Drama Series.

"I have to tell you guys a story about the very first time that I met Russell," Wilson said as she approached the microphone. "I was a young actor. I was, like, 19 and he was sitting there having dinner with Nicole Kidman at STC (Sydney Theatre Company)."

"I was like, 'Oh my God' and I went up to them and I was like really nervous," she continued, adding that as she approached the table, the Les Misérables actor turned to her, looked her "right in the eyes" and told her to "f**k off!"

Wilson assured the crowd that it was a "true story" and joked that the Big Little Lies star gave her a "scholarship to go to America and study comedy" a few years later, while Crowe hasn't given her anything.

"Russell didn't give me anything. No (South Sydney) Rabbitohs (rugby club) merch, nothing," the actress quipped. "You know, he did, though, a few years ago, give me a hug, and then he, like, sweetly whispered in my ear, 'I thought I told you to f**k off.'"

The AACTA Awards took place at the Sydney Opera House.