Green Book director Peter Farrelly apologises for exposing himself

Peter Farrelly said he was "embarrassed" by his actions on film sets in the late 1990s

The director of Green Book has apologised for flashing his penis to colleagues two decades ago.

An article published in Newsweek in 1998 revealed Peter Farrelly played a game on set which involved trying to get cast and crew members to look at his penis.

The article was found and quoted by The Cut after Green Book's success at the Golden Globes on Sunday.

"True. I was an idiot," the director said in a statement.

"I did this decades ago and I thought I was being funny and the truth is I'm embarrassed and it makes me cringe now. I'm deeply sorry."

The original Newsweek piece, and another one in The Observer, told how Farrelly and his brother Bobby would come up with routines to trick colleagues into looking at Peter's genitalia.

They included pretending Peter had a mysterious blotch on his stomach that he wanted a colleague to look at. He would then lift up his shirt to reveal his penis hanging over his trousers.

Cameron Diaz is quoted in the original article, as she was working with the Farrelly brothers on There's Something About Mary at the time.

She said: "When a director shows you his penis the first time you meet him, you've got to recognize the creative genius."

Green Book stars Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali

Farrelly has previously been known for making comedy films such as There's Something About Mary, Dumb and Dumber and Kingpin.

Green Book, however, marks a change in tone for the director, and is a serious contender for the Oscars next month.

Set in the 1960s, the film stars Mahershala Ali as an African-American musician who hires an Italian-American driver (played by Viggo Mortensen) as his driver on a tour of America's Deep South.

The movie has already picked up three Golden Globes for best comedy or musical film and best supporting actor for Ali. It also has four Bafta nominations.