CLIVE OWEN - OWEN'S HORSE HORRORS

Hollywood hunk CLIVE OWEN pulled out of a movie so he could overcome his horse-riding fear in ANTOINE FUQUA's forthcoming epic KING ARTHUR.

The 39-year-old - who plays the legendary British King Arthur - has had unfortunate riding experiences in earlier films so he insisted on an intensive equestrian crash course for the blockbuster - which requires the star to spend half of the movie on a horse.

The course meant he had to ditch a unnamed film he was due to appear.

The GOSFORD PARK star says, "I'd done some riding in other movies but never well. It's been very hard doing dialogue scenes on a lively horse.

"And that's before you even get to the ways of the warrior; there was to be no holding back - Fuqua was pushing for the stinging brutality of Dark Age warfare."