Naomi Watts reveals Russell Crowe slept on her couch when she was living in LA

He is the New Zealand-born actor who has become a Hollywood megastar.

But on Wednesday, Naomi Watts revealed Russell Crowe slept on her couch at the start of his career.

‘He came and stayed when I had a place in Los Angeles and I was starting out and he was starting out there,’ the 52-year-old actress told B105’s Stav, Abby and Matt.

‘He had a bunch of meetings and didn’t want to spend money on a hotel at that point so he stayed a couple of times,’ she revealed.

Russell worked in several theatre productions before landing an appearance on the TV show Neighbours in 1987.

He later made his film debut in the 1990 film Prisoners of the Sun and eventually won acclaim for his role in the 1992 movie Romper Stomper.

He continued to build his career throughout the 1990s, earning critical acclaim for his roles in films like L.A. Confidential in 1997 and The Insider in 1999.

Meanwhile, Naomi’s new film Penguin Bloom will be released in Australian cinemas from January 21.

It is based on the true story of a paralysed woman’s life-saving relationship with a magpie.

In December, during an interview with Channel Seven’s Sunrise, Naomi spoke of the lengths the filmmakers went to in order to tell Samantha Bloom’s story in the ‘most authentic’ way possible.

She said it was incredible working alongside – and portraying – the ‘extraordinary woman’ who struck up an unlikely friendship with a young and wounded magpie after an accident in Thailand left her paralysed from the chest down.

‘Obviously Sam is someone who’s suffered a lot, deeply, and so I just wanted to do the right thing by her,’ Naomi told Sunrise.

‘I was nervous but she couldn’t have been more generous, and it was a beautiful friendship that formed as well.’