Russell Crowe, the Hollywood "bad boy" was arrested Monday morning for assaulting an employee of the Mercer hotel in Manhattan where he was staying, police said. Around 4.20 am the actor got into a fight with the employee and threw the phone into the man's face, hurting him.

"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 Australian movie star was arrested and charged by police with second degree assault, Wysokowski said. Crowe was expected to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court later on Monday. An employee who answered the phone at the Mercer Hotel in SoHo said he was unaware of the incident.

Crowe is in New York to promote his latest movie, "Cinderella Man", a story based on the life of world heavyweight boxing champion James J Braddock, which opened in cinemas last weekend.