Russell Crowe puts accent on acrimony

As Hollywood stars go, Russell Crowe is of the more opinionated variety. Just ask TV producer Malcolm Gerrie . So you could forgive Mark Lawson a little trepidation when he suggested to the actor that his accent in Robin Hood had "hints of Irish". The result: radio gold. Lawson questioned Crowe for BBC Radio 4's Front Row. The Australian star was already in a bad mood after a book claimed he had refused to say one of the most famous lines in his Oscar-winning turn in Gladiator. It was about to get worse ( hear for yourself 5 mins 45 seconds in ). Lawson: "The accent you've given him, there are hints to me of Irish but what were you thinking of in those terms?" Crowe: "You've got dead ears mate. You've seriously got dead ears if you think that's an Irish accent." Lawson: "Hints of ..." Crowe: "Bollocks ... I'm a little dumbfounded you could possibly find any Irish in that character. That's kind of ridiculous. It's your show. Whatever." Lawson: "You're going for northern English?" Crowe: "No, I was going for an Italian, yeah. Missed it?" Lawson: "The, erm ..." Crowe: "<bleep>" Lawson: "Anyway, the outlaw aspect of him must appeal to you ..." Crowe: "I don't get the Irish thing brother, I don't get it at all ..." Lawson's Radio 4 colleagues were so tickled by the exchange that they sent Today's Evan Davis to perfect his own Yorkshire twang with accents coach Andrew Jack . Apparently it's all about making the vowels "short and flat". Davis, it has to be said, should probably stick with the day job, even though he declared: "It's sounding almost William Hague, already." It turns out Crowe modelled his voice on Michael Parkinson . Only if he ever uses the phrase "Tell me about your new book/film/record" will we know if he truly nailed it.