Roman Polanski - Polanski 'Accepts Blame' In New Interview

ROMAN POLANSKI accepts the blame for his current legal woes in a candid new magazine interview.

The director sat down with an Esquire journalist shortly before his arrest in Switzerland last month (Sep09) on a 1977 child sex charge.

The 76 year old admitted he was responsible for his own actions, which prompted him to flee the U.S. before he could be sentenced for sexually assaulting a 13 year old girl.

Polanski said, "There was no plot against me. There was no set-up. It was all my fault."

Referring to the scandal that followed former U.S. president Bill Clinton's affair with intern Monica Lewinsky, he added, "I think that my wrongdoing was far greater than Bill Clinton's."

But later in the interview, the director appeared to attempt to excuse his actions, claiming, "Sex is not a pastime. It's a force, it's a drive. It changes your way of thinking," adding that, "There's a different justice for people who are public figures than for those who are not."

He also insisted exiling himself from America was a last resort and against his nature: "After the party, you either clean up the mess or move the apartment. In general, I clean up."

The filmmaker is currently in custody in Switzerland and fighting extradition to the U.S.