Oscar-winning actor Sean Penn has been charged with battery and vandalism after he allegedly attacked a photographer in Los Angeles last year.
Penn could face up to 18 months in jail if convicted of the misdemeanour charges, which relate to an incident on October 2 in the Brentwood area of the city.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles city attorney's office who filed the charges, Frank Mateljan, stated: "We are alleging he kicked a photographer, and we are also accusing him of breaking the photographer's camera."
The incident was captured on video and broadcast on TMZ.Com, which showed Penn, dressed in a black shirt and dark pants, striding toward the photographer and kicking at him a few times while repeatedly shouting "Get out".
It is not the first time the 49-year-old has been involved in conflict with a photographer.
He was sentenced to 60 days in jail in 1987 after he attacked a photographer on a film set, and was involved in another altercation with a member of the paparazzi at his brother's funeral in 2006.
Misdemeanour charges are not as serious as felony charges in the US but may still incur jail time if proved.