TheBoost said:

I recall reading that Crowe, as "The Spaniard" in Gladiator wanted to do a Spanish accent, and Ridley Scott had to convince him that the only way the audience would know he was playing a Spanish member of the ancient Roman Empire based in Itally was to do a gravelly British accent.

It's like Alfred Molina. In his career: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000547/

He's played:
French
Mexican
English
Russian
German
New Yorker
Ancient Persian
Modern Iranian
Egyptian
Italian
Belgian
Jew
AND
Canadian

Apparently, we in America see him and say, "Well! I don't know where he's from, but he's not from around here!"