Russell Crowe - Russell Crowe Besotted By Bow

Russell Crowe is "in love" with archery.

The actor learned how to use a bow and arrow ahead of taking on the title role in 'Robin Hood' and believes his training made the movie better.

He told Empire magazine: "It's a bit like learning golf, which I did for 'The Insider'. And man, I loved it. It's great.

"I said to the guy who was teaching me, 'I'm in love with the flight. I just love it when the arrow is released from the bow...' and he was like, 'Well, it's your sport then.'

"We've done so much more than we expected to do in the film in terms of being able to get actual shots in there where we can shoot an arrow and a target.

"But you can only do that sort of stuff if you really take the time to learn the sport. It's cool man, very cool."

Russell also singled out a battle scene set in Pembrokeshire, Wales, as his favourite to film.

He explained: "It was incredible. We had 130 horses going at full gallop on that beautiful beach and 500-odd extras on foot. The adrenaline rush was extraordinary."