Crowe 'angry' over edited speech

Crowe is tipped for Oscar glory

Hollywood star Russell Crowe was reportedly involved in an angry confrontation with a TV executive, after part of his Bafta-winning speech was edited from a broadcast of the event.

The New Zealand-born actor was said to have been "abusive" and "behaving unreasonably" after a poem he read out by Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh was cut.

In the international versions which will be seen by a potential audience of one billion people his speech is uncut

Spokesman for Initial

Crowe won the best actor award for A Beautiful Mind - he plays mathematical genius, John Forbes Nash Jr, who won a Nobel Prize despite his lifelong battle with schizophrenia.

During his speech, he quoted from Kavanagh's poem Sanctity, but this did not appear in the coverage of the show that night on BBC One.

Crowe was later said to have confronted Malcolm Gerrie, whose company, Initial Productions, made the programme for BBC One.

Crowe won an Oscar for his role in Gladiator

A spokesman for Initial said: "We're not commenting on the details of what happened. All we're saying is that Russell Crowe was abusive and behaved very unreasonably.

"We told people accepting that they must keep their speeches to a minimum because we were conscious of the time constraints."

He also added that a number of other winning speeches were edited.

Mr Gerrie was understood to have been shaken by the confrontation.

'Great saints'

He is said to have been taken aside by Crowe during the confrontation.

In his speech Crowe said:

"To be a poet and not know the trade,
To be a lover and repel all women;
Twin ironies by which great saints are made,
The agonising pincer-jaws of heaven."

Although this was edited out, the TV audience did hear Crowe say: "I love my job and I don't think I do it that well - but keep on disagreeing with me."

The actor, who won last year's best actor Oscar for Gladiator, is being tipped again for glory at next month's Academy Awards.

The 37-year-old was also nominated for his role in The Insider.

The spokesman for Initial said: "The thing is that in the international versions which will be seen by a potential audience of one billion people his speech is uncut."

He added that Mr Gerrie was not going to take the matter any further.