Depardieu says he was sober on BBC

LONDON, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- French film star Gerard Depardieu says he was acting and was not drunk or out of control during his appearance on a BBC TV talk show.

Depardieu has come under fire in France for his outrageous performance on "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross," the Independent reported Monday. But the star said he was merely giving producers what they wanted and chastised his countrymen for their lack of humor.

The actor laughed a lot, slurred his speech and bragged about how much wine he drinks per day. But the kicker, the newspaper said, was when he was asked how to cook a hedgehog and he replied: "You inflate it through its arse."

Depardieu told Le Journal du Dimanche he has not had a drink for six months. As for his performance, he said "it was fixed in advance" and the BBC was very happy.

"It's only the French who were shocked," he said. "We had a laugh and it was great. (The British) are people who have a great sense of humor and with whom you can arrange things like that. It is the French who are cretins."