NEW YORK (CNN) -- Hollywood star Russell Crowe has been arrested in New York and charged with assault after allegedly throwing a telephone that struck a hotel employee in the face, according to police.
Officers said the New Zealand-born actor was expected to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court later on Monday.
"He was upset because he couldn't get a call out to Australia," said Sgt. Michael Wysokowski. "He threw a phone at the employee hitting him in the face and causing a minor laceration."
The incident took place at the Mercer Street Hotel in the SoHo district of New York City shortly after 4 a.m. on Monday.
Police said the victim was taken to St.Vincent's Hospital. Crowe was taken to a police station were he was charged with second-degree assault. If convicted he could face up to a year in prison.
Crowe was in New York promoting his latest movie, "Cinderella Man," a biopic based on the life of world heavyweight champ James J. Braddock, which opened in theaters last weekend.
According to Nielsen the movie ranked fourth place in theaters and grossed $18.6 million.
Crowe, who won an Oscar for Best Actor in 2001 for playing Maximus in "Gladiator," has often been in the news for off-stage incidents.
At the 2002 Bafta Awards in Britain, he admitted to being "abusive" and "behaving unreasonably" towards a TV producer.
And later that year he was spoken to by police after an alleged brawl with a New Zealand businessman in a London restaurant.
The 41-year-old actor married singer and actress Danielle Spencer in 2003.
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