Actor Gerard Butler accused of punching photographer

By Alex Dobuzinskis

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor Gerard Butler, star of the movie "300," is being investigated for an alleged attack on a photographer, a Los Angeles police spokeswoman said on Wednesday.

In the latest in a series of clashes between celebrities and paparazzi in Los Angeles, a photographer filed a police report accusing Butler, 38, of punching him several times in the face in a scuffle early on Tuesday morning, said LAPD spokeswoman Ana Aguirre.

Investigators plan to contact Butler over the report, which names the Scottish-born actor as a suspect for misdemeanor battery, Aguirre said.

Butler's attorney could not be reached for comment.

Celebrity website TMZ.com reported that the photographer, who was not named, had been tailing Butler in his car after the actor left a bar in Los Angeles.

The photographer said Butler later got out of the car and threw three or four punches at him, which resulted in a hospital visit for stitches to his lip.

Last month, rap star Kanye West was arrested following a scuffle with photographers at a Los Angeles airport but prosecutors declined to file felony charges against him.

Actors Keanu Reeves and Pierce Brosnan have also been accused of attacking photographers in the last two years but were not criminally prosecuted.

Butler played King Leonidas in the 2006 movie "300." He also starred last year in the film "P.S. I Love You."