Jill Vanderway, a barista at a downtown Naperville Starbucks, is convinced the man who recently ordered an iced-triple-venti-nonfat latte was Russell Crowe.
“Everybody got super quiet, which is a weird thing at our store,” she said, adding that she didn’t recognize him at first. “I started making small talk with him, like he was a regular — until I heard his voice.”
Although none of the sightings have been verified by the actor or his publicist, tweets have been flying in recent days about someone who looked a lot like Crowe dropping into a health food store, visiting a public pool and buying lattes.
Crowe reportedly is in negotiations to appear in “Superman: Man of Steel,” which will be filming later this summer in Plano and Chicago.
Crowe would play Jor-El, Superman’s father on the planet Krypton. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane have signed on to star as Clark Kent’s parents, and Amy Adams will be Lois Lane. British film star Henry Cavill will play the Man of Steel. The background casting office for the film is based in Aurora.
As for hard evidence that the actor is actually here, Crowe reportedly took to Twitter earlier this week — when morning storms rolled through the Chicagoland area — with a tweet referencing dark clouds and thunder.
And in an interview with Australia’s Daily Telegraph posted Thursday, his wife commented on the “Gladiator” star’s effort to get in shape and told the paper he is “currently in Chicago.” That might explain the bikes on the back of the car he reportedly hopped in after he left Starbuck’s with his latte in hand.
Posts to Crowe’s Twitter account also jest about sweating up four shirts in one morning after a tough workout.
As for how long Crowe could be staying in the area, his Twitter once again gives a hint.
“I’m a long way from home, yet,” he tweeted Friday.
— Mick Swasko
