Russell Crowe ‘sparks suspicion with cigarettes’

Russell Crowe has reportedly been smoking "suspicious-smelling cigarettes" in a hotel courtyard with his band.

The Hollywood actor has been hanging out with fellow musician friends in the courtyard of The Greenwich Hotel in TriBeCa, New York City.

Russell and the rest of his band, Ordinary Fear of God, have been spied socialising while the Australian star "sings songs accompanied by an acoustic guitar".

"[The group have been] drinking amid the wafts of smoke coming from suspicious-smelling cigarettes," reports the New York Post.

A neighbour is also said to have noticed "a very distinctive fragrance wafting up from the courtyard". However, the onlooker says that the band's music is pretty impressive nonetheless.

“Crowe is in the courtyard every night with his bandmates playing music. They’re not bad,” the source added.

The Greenwich Hotel's co-owner, Robert De Niro, has apparently been informed of the situation in the courtyard and is reported to be unhappy.

Russell and Robert's representatives declined to comment.

The star - who is set to show off his singing talents as Inspector Javert in the big screen adaptation of musical Les Misérables - has previously had a brush with the law thanks to his bad behaviour at a hotel.

Russell was charged with assault after he threw a telephone at an employee at boutique hotel The Mercer in downtown New York City.