French actor Gerard Depardieu has laughed off his recent controversy for urinating on an airplane in a spoof video dressed as Asterix cartoon character Obelix.
The Cyrano de Bergerac star was onboard a flight from Paris, France to Dublin, Ireland last month (Aug11) when he was caught short and needed to relieve himself while the aircraft was delayed on the runway.
Cabin crewmembers refused to allow him to use the toilets until after take-off, so Depardieu decided to pee into an empty bottle.
Urine splashed onto the floor, prompting the pilot to taxi back to the airport terminal so the plane could be cleaned - delaying the flight by a further two hours.
His friend and travel companion, actor Edouard Baer, claimed his pal had no choice but to use the bottle because he suffers from "prostate problems", although Depardieu himself has remained silent about the incident.
Now he has poked fun at the scandal by filming an 80-second video in character as the strong and overweight wild boar-eating Obelix, the sidekick of diminutive Gaulish warrior Asterix, portrayed by Baer.
In the clip, the pair is shown onboard a grounded plane when Depardieu loses his temper and throws a tantrum after being told he is not allowed to dine on his feast of boar until after take-off.
The actors are familiar with the popular French comic book characters - they are set to star in a big screen adaptation of the cartoon next year (12).