Uma stalker 'creepy not criminal'

Thurman's films include Pulp Fiction and The Avengers

A man accused of stalking Kill Bill actress Uma Thurman thought he was being romantic, his lawyer has claimed.

"Creepy? Yes. Obsessed? Yes. Criminal? No," George Vomvolakis said at the start of Jack Jordan's New York trial.

Mr Jordan faces misdemeanour charges of stalking and aggravated harassment. The 37-year-old from Maryland has received psychiatric treatment in the past.

He was arrested in October 2007 after being accused of following and trying to contact Ms Thurman for two years.

If convicted, Mr Jordan faces up to one year in jail.

'Boundaries'

In his opening statement, Mr Vomvolakis said his client "does not think the way you and I think".

"He doesn't know the boundaries you and I know," he told the jury.

Mr Jordan is accused of sending e-mails to Thurman's father and brother, loitering on the steps of her Manhattan apartment and visiting her trailer on a movie set.

Prosecutors said he had tried to communicate with the actress "with the intent to harass, annoy, threaten and alarm".

The case continues.