Oscar winning Hollywood star Russell Crowe was arrested in New York on Monday and charged with assault after allegedly hurling a telephone at a hotel employee, a police spokesperson said.
Police were called to the swanky Mercer Hotel in SoHo, downtown Manhattan at around 4.20am.
”Upon arrival, it was determined that Russel Crowe threw a phone at a hotel clerk,” the spokesperson said, adding that the employee had been treated in hospital for a minor cut to the face.
The notoriously short-tempered Crowe (41) was apparently angry at being unable to put a call through to Australia.
Crowe, who was in New York to promote his latest film Cinderella Man, was due to appear in criminal court later on Monday.
The Australian actor won a best actor Oscar in 2001 for his portrayal of Maximus in Gladiator. – Sapa-AFP