Russell Crowe is sharing the emotional story of his chance encounter with the late Sinéad O'Connor, whom he called a "hero of mine."
The "Thor: Love and Thunder" star, 59, posted his recollection July 26 on the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter.
Crowe explained that his encounter with the "Nothing Compares 2 U" singer, whose death at age 56 was announced July 26, happened in 2022 while he was working in O'Connor's native Ireland.
Crowe recalled that he and a group of new friends were “having a pint in the cold outside a Dalkey pub” when a “woman with purpose strode past us.”
“Puffy parker zipped to the nape and her bowed head covered in a scarf,” the Oscar winner described her. One of Crowe’s friends “muttered an exclamation, jumped up and pursued the woman.”
Crowe watched as his friend and the woman embraced and then motioned for him to join them.
“There under streetlights with mist on my breath, I met Sinéad. She looked in my eyes, and uttered with disarming softness ‘Oh, it’s you Russell,’” he wrote.
“She came with us back to the table and sat in the cold and ordered a hot tea,” he recalled.
Crowe and the others chatted about a wide range of topics with the Grammy-winning mother of four.
“In a conversation without fences we roamed through the recent Dublin heatwave, local politics, American politics, the ongoing fight for indigenous recognition in many places, but particularly in Australia, her warm memory of New Zealand, faith, music, movies and her brother the writer,” he wrote.
“I had the opportunity to tell her she was a hero of mine,” he added.
"When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights," he continued.
"We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman," wrote Crowe.
He added, "Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad."
Fans responded to Crowe's recollection to let him know that it touched their hearts. "What a wonderful memory," wrote one.
"Beautiful," added another.
The Irish rock band U2 also paid tribute to the late "Black Boys on Mopeds" singer on July 27.
The band's official Instagram page posted several black-and-white images of O'Connor, including photos of her with singer Bono and guitarist the Edge.
In the photo's caption, the band shared lyrics from O'Connor's early song "Heroine," a 1986 collaboration with the Edge, whose real name is David Evans. O'Connor was just 19 when the song, which was featured on the soundtrack for the film "Captive," was released.
"Touch these eyes with a broken smile. Touch my mouth with your furrowed brow, Lift my heart, heal my shame, Lead me into rest again," the caption read. "Heroine... Rest In Peace Sinéad."