Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe are Hollywood’s Most Overpaid Celebrities.

The “American Gangster” actor topped the new list compiled by Forbes magazine, who compared stars’ salaries to the gross income made by the film. While “Gladiator” cost $100 million to make, and made $460 million gross income, Russell’s recent films, which include “Cinderella Man” and “A Good Year,” have flopped at the box office - averaging $5 of gross income for each dollar he was paid. American Gangster” might help Russell’s bankability - it has already made $173 million worldwide, nearly double the $100 million it cost to make.

Nicole Kidman came second in the list after earning a reported $15 million for her most recent blockbuster “The Golden Compass” - which made only $26 million in its debut weekend in the US, compared to the $200 million it allegedly cost to make. These figures mean Nicole’s films return $8 on average to the studios, while Angelina Jolie - who is paid less than Nicole - grosses $15 on average.

Comedians Jim Carrey and Will Ferrell came in third and fourth positions.

Jim is taking a huge risk on his next film “Yes Man” - he is not being paid anything upfront and will only get paid if the film makes money.

“The Wedding Planner” actress Jennifer Lopez rounded off the top five. The mother-to-be is quickly becoming known for her box office flops, with her film “Gigli” not even taking as much as it cost to make.

Adam Sandler, Cameron Diaz, Denzel Washington, Will Smith and Tom Cruise also featured in the embarrassing list.

Forbes magazine’s Most Overpaid Celebrities:
1. Russell Crowe
2. Nicole Kidman
3. Jim Carrey
4. Will Ferrell
5. Jennifer Lopez
6. Adam Sandler
7. Cameron Diaz
8. Denzel Washington
9. Will Smith
10. Tom Cruise

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For a guy who hates those bloody tabloid rags, Russell Crowe gives great gossip.

“You know, I worked with Leonardo [DiCaprio] when he was 17,” Crowe recalls. “He was a virgin and he’d talk about that constantly.”

Of course, Leo has made up for lost time - what with his conquests of supermodels Gisele Bundchen and Bar Rafaeli, among others. So Crowe is looking forward to debriefing the lothario on their upcoming “Body of Lies.”

“I’m hoping … he can fill [me] in on what’s happened in between, maybe show some photos,” Crowe laughs in Entertainment Weekly. “I’m sure life’s different now.”

Crowe admits his tongue sometimes gets away from him.

“I said something to Spike [Lee] one night, and he’s never been the same to me since,” he says. “He was trying to get me to play [German boxer] Max Schmeling in the Joe Louis story. If I was in it, he’d get this $100 million financing. But it’s just a secondary role. And I said to him, “I want to be Joe Louis. I want to be Muhammad Ali. If you want to work with me, let me be Joe Louis. … I think he took it the wrong way. … I don’t get any more birthday cards from him.”

Crowe also has turned down a few superhero roles. “What do you get with a superhero role?” asks Crowe. “You get a Spandex costume, and every now and then, a cape.”

The Oscar winner, who talks to EW with Denzel Washington, remembers meeting his “American Gangster” co-star 12 years ago, on the set of “Virtuosity.”

“We had to do a scene where there’s a piece of cyclone wire fencing between us,” says Crowe. “I had to be really rabid and weird, and … a bit of spit comes out of my mouth … and it weaves itself neatly through the fencing and lands right on Denzel’s lip. … And I’m going, Oh man … I’m doing my audition, and I spit on Denzel Washington. I might as well just go home and hang myself right now. … He just kept on doing the scene, and at the end, they said ‘cut,’ and he’s looking at me and the spit’s still sitting there and he goes, ‘I love the taste of warm saliva in the morning.’?”

Um, okay?

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Russell Crowe has vowed to discourage his children from entering the acting profession - because there are ‘more important things’ than appearing on the big screen. The Gladiator star insists he isn’t keen for his two sons with wife Danielle Spencer - Charlie, four; and Tennyson, one - to follow his footsteps into the acting world.

He says, “I’m there for whatever they want to do, but I certainly know the pitfalls of this business so I won’t be encouraging them. There are so many more important things to dedicate your life to rather than being an actor. People will probably do what their dad did but they don’t need to prove anything to me.”

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What has this world come to!

Hotel clerks might not like phone-throwing Russell Crowe, but his co-stars on “3:10 to Yuma” say he’s “a sweetheart.” Ben Foster and Dallas Roberts gushed to writer Gregory Speck, “Now we know why his rugby team loves him so much.” Crowe often hosted barbecues for the cast and crew, they said at a screening at the Tribeca Grand. The prima donna on the movie, which co-stars Peter Fonda and Gretchen Mol, was Christian “American Psycho” Bale, who would arrive on the set by helicopter and never speak to his castmates unless the script called for it.

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Russell Crowe will join Leonardo DiCaprio in “Body of Lies,” the William Monahan-scripted adaptation of the David Ignatius novel that Ridley Scott will direct for Warner Bros.

Donald De Line and Scott are producing; pic shoots in the fall.

Crowe will play Ed Hoffman, the manipulative CIA boss who teams with operative Roger Ferris (DiCaprio) to trap a dangerous Al Qaeda leader by planting a false rumor that the bomber is in cahoots with the Americans. Crowe has been working steadily with Scott since “Gladiator,” teaming on “A Good Year,” the recently completed “American Gangster” and the upcoming “Nottingham,” a Universal and Imagine drama that will go into production early next year.

Crowe has been courted to play the CIA boss since DiCaprio signed on in April. He’s awaiting a polish by “American Gangster” scribe Steve Zaillian before formally committing.

Crowe will next be seen starring alongside Christian Bale in the James Mangold-directed “3:10 to Yuma.”

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The director will once again work with Russell Crowe, this time for Universal’s new take on the Robin Hood story. In the film, Crowe stars as a noble Sheriff of Nottingham, stuck working for an evil king and in a love triangle with Robin Hood and Maid Marion. Scott previously directed Crowe in Gladiator, A Good Year, and the upcoming American Gangster.

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Russell Crowe will make his feature directorial debut helming Bra Boys, a drama centered on a real-life counterculture surfer community in Australia. The Universal and Imagine Entertainment movie will be based on the Bra Boys documentary, which focused the three brothers who started the community in a Sydney suburb. Crowe narrated the documentary. It is unknown whether he will appear in the movie.