Russell Crowe Recalls Meeting Man of Steel Actor 12 Years Ago
SWEENEY: The CNN film Girl Rising asked writers from around the world to tell the stories of girls trying to get an education. In Cambodia, many girls drop out of school early to work or care for family. A writer and activist introduces us to a girl who was orphaned at the age of nine and scavenged in a garbage dump to make money. Here is her story.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think westerners know of Cambodia primarily through the movie "The Killing Fields." People don't understand that this is 30 years later. We have really resilient, strong people that if given an opportunity will succeed. This is a new Cambodia. Soka (ph) is a new Cambodian.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, everybody. My name is Soka (ph).</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I'm Luong Ung (ph) and I'm the writer of Soka's (ph) story. Soka (ph), your story for me is a narrative of resiliency and toughness. If you were poor and your family needs you to work in a garbage dumps, you don't get to go to school.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had no choice, so I had to decide to work on the dump. And it is a bad place.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Soka (ph) has been given an opportunity to go to school. For a lot of girls in Cambodia, the one way we can have a better future is through studies.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dream is to be a teacher and also run a school by myself to have other girls. Education can solve everything.</s>SWEENEY: And Soka (ph) is now at the top of her class. She's teaching English to younger students. To learn more about the 10 times 10 fund for girl's education, go to CNN.com/GirlRising and see a special presentation of CNN Films Girl Rising. That's on Saturday night June 22 at 8:00 in London, 9:00 in Berlin and 11:00 in Abu Dhabi. The tiniest member of Britain's royal family is due to arrive some time next month. And plans have been in the works for some time now, as you can imagine. But as the big day approaches, we are learning some of the details right down to the hospital wing where he or she will be born. Royal correspondent Max Foster has more.</s>MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is where we expect the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to present their new royal baby to the world for the very first time, sometime in mid-July. We also, according to royal sources, think the Duchess is going to try to have a natural birth, but these things are never predictable. They don't know the sex of this baby, we're told. So all that speculation was completely unfounded. In fact, we're only going to find out some time after the birth. Someone will come out of that doorway and go by police escort to Buckingham Palace carrying a notice, a piece of paper. They'll hang it on the railing there. And that will be the official announcement that a new heir has been born and will be the first time we'll officially know whether or not they've had a boy or a girl. So we're getting some bits of information here. We also know that Prince William is planning two weeks of paternity leave, that's the standard statutory amount of time you get in this country. And we are not quite clear about what's going to happen after they leave hospital here. It could be Kensington Palace where they currently live, or some speculation that they may be going home to Bucklebury, which is where the Middletons live. So we're getting some details, but not all the details, but of course when you're having a baby nothing is all that predicable. Max Foster, CNN, London.</s>SWEENEY: And Max will be there for us, of course, come the hour. Now the actor Russell Crowe is known for playing tough, ruthless characters such as the Gladiator Maximus, or the police inspector in Les Miserables. But the inspiring tale of his first meeting with fellow Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill 12 years ago reveals a softer side to his character. CNN sat down with the stars of the block office blockbuster to get their side of the story.</s>HENRY CAVILL, ACTOR: I was in boarding school. I was about 16 years old. And Russell was filming a scene from Proof of Life in the boarding school with the chap called Merlin (ph) who is one of the actors. And I was just an extra in the background.</s>RUSSELL CROWE, ACTOR: I'm on my way to the airport. In the scene, I was there as the character to tell my son that yet again I had another job overseas and I wouldn't be around for the important things in his life. So there was a rugby game being played in the background and there was one kid on that field who was quite dominant and fluid, you know, and so he caught my eye. And in between shots, that kid came over and talked to me, you know, but all his questions were about acting.</s>CAVILL: And so I walked up, stuck my hand out and said, hi, my name is Henry. I was thinking of becoming an actor. You know, any tips. What's it like. And he said, well, you know, the pay is great, but sometimes they don't treat you so good. And I'm paraphrasing.</s>CROWE: A day or so later after we'd finished shooting at the school, I was putting together a package for Merlin (ph) because I figured the greatest thing you could get when you're in boarding school is unexpected mail. And after I finished putting a package together for him, I thought I'll put one together for that other kid, as well, the one that came and talked to me.</s>CAVILL: Two days later, I receive an Aussie rugby jersey, some Aussie sweets, some Vegemite, a band CD, and a picture of him in Gladiator saying "Dear Henry, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Russell."</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He'll be an outcast. They'll kill him.</s>CROWE: No. He'll be a god to them. 12 years later, I'm in a gym in Naperville, Illinois. And I'm working out. And I'm working out, you know, with my son in this movie that I'm doing. And he's on the other side of the gym. And we probably worked out together -- or were working with each other or around each other for eight to 12 weeks. And I knew I knew him from somewhere, I just didn't know, I couldn't place him.</s>CAVILL: I didn't want to walk up to him, put him in that embarrassing situation where he has to lie to me. It's like, oh, hi, remember me, the kid from 12 years ago, the one kid you met during shooting one day. I just assumed he wouldn't.</s>CROWE: So one day, you know, after a workout we were just sort of sitting there sweating, you know. And I said, do I know you? And he had this kind of quiet smile and he went, do you remember visiting Stowe School (ph)? I said, yeah. He goes, do you remember that kid that came and talked to you? I went, yeah. And he talked to you about acting? I said, yes, I do remember that. What did I say? And he said, well, you said they pay you pretty well, but they treat you like</s>CAVILL: It meant a lot to me, because for all those years when I was coming home after three months in L.A. and not getting a job and working in a bar and everything and, you know, you look at that and aside from all the support that my family gave me, the idea that so you go OK it's a long and hard journey. It's 1,000 miles and just keep on taking those single steps.</s>CROWE: And it's amazing like comic circle.</s>CAVILL: That's what the symbol means.</s>SWEENEY: What a great story. What a great way to end the program. I'm Fionnuala Sweeney, that was Connect the World. Thank you for watching. END