Paul Hogan, 85, makes rare public appearance at controversial Crocodile Dundee: Encore Cut premiere in Sydney - as he defends 'woke' edit of classic film which shot him to fame

Paul Hogan made a rare public appearance on Thursday night as he walked the red carpet at the premiere of the 'encore cut' of the 1986 cult classic Crocodile Dundee.

The Australian actor, 85, rocked a very chic ensemble for the occasion, slipping on a beautifully aged brown leather jacket over a black button-down and jeans.

He paired the outback-esque coat with a leather belt and comfortable black sneakers as he flaunted all his best angles for the cameras at Mrs Macquaries Point. 

Paul shot to fame in the '80s when he portrayed Mick 'Crocodile' Dundee in the classic outback adventure franchise which boasted three films.

The star was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance. 

A new 'encore cut' was shown at the OpenAir Cinema in Sydney's Royal Botanic Gardens, which saw two minutes of insensitive material cut from the original movie.

The rehashed film was recently slammed by viewers who dubbed it 'bloody woke crap' after some of the more famous scenes were cut for a modern audience.

However, Paul revealed during the premiere on Thursday that he 'totally' agreed with the changes made in the encore cut, and insisted it 'wasn't about being woke'. 

He told The Courier Mail: 'I heard about it [the edit] years ago, it started, and it wasn't about being woke.

'They pointed out to me and said, "This guy is a folk hero around the world, and he shouldn't be groping people."

'And I thought, "Yeah that's right, he shouldn't be." So take it out. I mean, he did it in all innocence, in naivety, but it's better without it.'

Paul went on to say that the re-edited version of Crocodile Dundee 'went through the roof' when it landed a G rating in the UK and played for a pre-watershed audience.

However, it seems not all fans of the comedy classic agree with the lead, as some recently slammed the edit which aired on Boxing Day on Channel 5 in the UK.

Viewers claimed nearly 10 per cent of the original film felt like it had gone AWOL, with many of the most popular scenes removed prior to broadcast.

Scenes which were considered to have aged badly in the ensuing decades since its '80s release were left on the cutting room floor.

The '80s film starred Paul as croc poacher Mick Dundee and Linda Kozlowski as New York reporter Sue Charlton, who persuades Dundee to head back to NY with her. 

The movie's tagline at the time was: 'From the Outback of Australia to urban jungle of New York, there's no wilderness he can't tame!' 

It was a blockbuster hit and has remained a popular choice for broadcasters at Christmas.

However, some who saw it over Christmas in the UK said the heavy editing for more sensitive viewers left the film 'not making sense'. 

One person wrote: 'Well just watched the iconic #crocodiledundee—absolute belter of a film, but channel 5 decided to hack the film to bits.'

Another added: 'How to ruin a film… Crocodile Dundee is unwatchable due to editing. Half the scenes make no sense. Bloody awful woke crap.'

Scenes that are considered likely to be offensive to modern audiences include the moment when Mick is enjoying the company of Gwendoline in a New York bar. 

When a friend points out that Gwendoline is in fact transgender, Dundee's reaction is aggressive, leaving the scene now firmly on the cutting room floor.

Elsewhere, some fans say the best line in the film has been removed, involving the moment Mick and Sue are approached by a robber outside a swanky hotel.

When the man pulls a flick knife on them, the crocodile hunter responds by pulling out his much bigger hunting knife and saying: 'That's not a knife, this is a knife'. 

And a fight scene where the croc poacher questions the heritage of limo driver Gus  has also been banished due to its racist overtones.

Dundee is heard asking the chauffeur, who helps him fight off an attacker in a Manhattan back street: 'You sure you're not Pitjantjatjara tribe?' 

The Pitjantjatjara are an Aboriginal people from close to Uluru in Australia. Gus smiles, responding: 'No man, Harlem Warlords!'