Crowe's Hood accent 'based on Parky'

ACTOR Russell Crowe's efforts to restore the legend of Robin Hood to its rightful Yorkshire roots have not proved a hit with film fans in America.

Antipodean Crowe's big-budget portrayal of the legendary outlaw – complete with an accent apparently based on Yorkshire TV presenter Sir Michael Parkinson – failed to hit the top spot at the US box office on its opening weekend.

It was beaten into second place by the Iron Man 2, disappointing movie executives who spent more than 100m on the latest version of the Robin Hood story.

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Crowe's attempts at an English accent have become the subject of some debate since he stormed out of a Radio 4 interview last week following the presenter's suggestion that he could hear "hints of Irish" in certain scenes. Other reviewers say they have spotted twangs of Geordie, Scottish and even a slight West Country burr.

But Crowe has revealed he was in fact attempting to pull off a South Yorkshire accent based on that of his friend Michael Parkinson, so lending his personal support to the claims of local historians who insist the outlaw hailed from a forest near Doncaster.

"This is one of the first times that Robin has an accent that is close to his place of origin, which I believe was Barnsdale," Crowe said.

"I believe he was associated with Nottingham, but he wasn't born anywhere near Sherwood – I think it was Barnsdale. The facts, if you can call them that, all point to that. So yes, I listened to a lot of Parky - that was a great help!"

During Crowe's outburst on Radio 4, he swore and accused interviewer Mark Lawson of having "dead ears" before walking out of the studio.