Kidman and Crowe fall out

He has always been one of her straighter-talking friends.

But when Russell Crowe aired his opinions on actors who appear in advertisements, Nicole Kidman took exception.

The actress who has just been paid £2million to appear in a four-minute extravaganza for Chanel was said to have been 'hurt' by his forthright views. There were raised voices between the two and, according to insiders, their friendship is practically over.

'I don't use my celebrity to make a living,' Crowe declared in Australian GQ magazine.

'I don't do ads for suits in Spain like George Clooney or cigarettes in Japan like Harrison Ford.

'And on one level, people go, "Well, more fault to you, mate, because there's free money to be handed out".

' But to me it ' s kind of sacrilegious - it's a complete contradiction of the **** ing social contract you have with your audience. I mean Robert De Niro's advertising American Express. Gee whiz, it's not the first time he's disappointed me. It's been happening for a while.'

Although he does not mention Miss Kidman, 37, she was said to have been furious.

'Nicole was really upset by what Russell said and their friendship is all but over,' said a source in Australia yesterday. 'They had a huge shouting match and she is feeling very hurt.'

There was already tension between the two, who have known each other since they were struggling actors in Australia in the early years of their careers.

Eucalyptus, the movie they were both working on in Australia, was cancelled on Friday, just before filming was due to start.

Sources pinned the blame firmly on Crowe, 40, who complained at the last minute that he did not like the script. Although officially the film was canned because 'the screenplay is not where it needed to be', sources claimed Crowe was unhappy that Miss Kidman had more screen time than him.

'Russell thought his role needed to be beefed up,' said an insider. 'He was worried that he was going to be outshone by Nicole.'

Miss Kidman and Crowe have always been close, with rumours of a brief romance years ago.

After she married Tom Cruise he wrote a song about her, called Somebody Else's Princess. When she and Cruise, with whom she has two children, broke up three years ago, Crowe helped her get over it by joining her on holiday. They have also shared in each other's success at the Oscars.

Miss Kidman won best actress for The Hours in 2002 while Crowe had his golden moment in 2000 when he won best actor for Gladiator.

Miss Kidman, who has spoken of her desire to find love again, was said to have been upset when Crowe married two years ago.