Russell Crowe admits people were hospitalised during the making of 'Robin Hood'.

The actor - who stars as the titular outlaw in the forthcoming big screen epic - says making the movie was an "intense" experience and battle scenes led to some cast members getting injured for real.

He said: "It's anarchy, violence and adrenaline.

"I think they took about 15 people from the field. Some of them went to hospital, but I think they're all OK, thankfully. It was an intense experience."

Russell admits that filming such elaborate scenes required serious concentration as they couldn't afford to make any mistakes.

He added to Empire magazine: "You're in a cavalry charge, 130 horses going as fast as they can gallop, and you are smashing into 500 men on the ground and you have a series of seven or eight fights.

"This has to take place at exactly the right time and if you're in the front line and you make a mistake, everybody behind you suffers. So you can't make a mistake."