Actor Russell Crowe says being `extremely sensitive` often gets him into trouble.

The 50-year-old has been branded as arrogant and as one with a bad temper. But denying it all, he has said he takes things to heart more than he probably should, reports contactmusic.com.

`Look, I'm extremely sensitive, and that's probably where some of my negative stuff comes from. I'm a little bit intuitive, so I know from a handshake whether somebody means me good or ill,` Crowe said on talk show `Sunday Night`.

The `Gladiator` actor, who was charged with assault and criminal possession of a weapon for allegedly throwing a phone and cutting a hotel clerk's eye, says the incident was blown out of proportion.

Crowe, who pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and avoided prison in the case, said: "I am in a fancy hotel in New York... I was trying to get a line out to Australia, the only thing that was stopping me calling Dani and Charlie (his wife Danielle Spencer and son Charles), who were sitting down to have dinner at that exact moment was this bloke who refused to make it easy for quite some time.

"His response was 'whatever' and he hung up on me, so I went down stairs and had a word with him...I never touched him mate, I never laid a finger on him. I didn't physically hurt him. He hurt himself running away from me. He slipped over and hurt his head."