Russell Crowe: The Water Diviner director mourns loss of traditional masculinity

The gruff actor and director said that the men of his childhood no longer exist

The Hollywood A-lister's comments came as he promoted his new film, The Water Diviner (Rex) (Rex)

Famously gruff actor Russell Crowe has mourned the fact that the men of his childhood are "vanishing".

Crowe, who is currently promoting his directorial debut The Water Diviner has spoken of how the film is based on the now obsolete Australian man of his childhood.

"Men like that are vanishing now," he told the Sunday Times Magazine, "but were everywhere when I was a kid: the archetypal Australian man who appears stuck in his ways but is, in fact, quite an open person, willing to see people for who they are.

"That was the Australian I aspired to be. The pubs my dad ran were full of them."

Crowe, 50, also responded to criticism of "sexist" beliefs after he said that the 40-something woman wasn't able to get the parts she wants because "she still wants to play the ingénue and can't understand why that isn't happening".

He clarified his comments, saying: "There's a certain percentage of vanity that is unhealthy in my business, and it affects both sexes. You see it with men, dyeing their hair into their sixties, pretending they don't have grey hair, or having plastic surgery and using sun lamps. I'm not that guy."

Crowe recently said he empathised with embattled Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, who allegedly punched a producer when he wasn't served a steak.

Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show, Crowe said: "If he’s been head down, a*se up working and he’s requested one little thing which is to be able to eat at the end of the day then I can understand why he’d get upset."