Crowe’s wrong call

ACTOR Russell Crowe faced a New York court yesterday after an outburst in which he threw a phone at a hotel worker.

He faced charges of second-degree assault and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon.

His appearance followed an ugly incident in which he attacked the hotel worker when he failed in his efforts to get a call through to his wife in Australia.

The notoriously hot-headed Australian admitted to the arresting police officer that he picked up the phone and threw it at the Mercer Hotel concierge “because he was angry”.

Police said the victim ended up in St Vincent’s Hospital.

Crowe, 41, was booked into Manhattan’s First Precinct and later escorted to court wearing handcuffs and sunglasses.

His next court appearance was set for September 14 at which point he could be facing four years in prison.

“This arose because he was trying to get his wife on the phone in Australia. He was in his room. He couldn’t get a line and there was a disagreement,” Crowe’s lawyer, Gerald Lefcourt, said yesterday.

Crowe was promoting the biopic Cinderella Man, based on the life of depression era heavyweight boxing champion James J Braddock.

The film’s director, Ron Howard, has already admitted Crowe’s fiery temperament made for a difficult working environment.