Actor Russell Crowe smiles while sitting on a motorcycle. REUTERS/Scott Audette/Files

Hollywood actor Russell Crowe was involved in a dramatic sea rescue on Saturday after a kayaking trip in New York went wrong.

The Gladiator star and a friend paddled out to the waters off New York's Long Island on Saturday afternoon, but as darkness fell, the two lost their way and ended up beaching their kayaks at a remote spot nearly 16 kilometres away from where they started

They yelled for help, and eventually a U.S. Coast Guard patrol heard their cries and picked them up at around 10 p.m. local time. They were then transported back to safety.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Robert Swieciki said of the incident, "He just needed a little bit of help, he just got a little lost. It wasn't really a rescue, really, more of just giving someone a lift."

The actor later thanked his rescuers in a post on his Twitter.com page, writing, "Kayak; Cold Spring/Huntington Harbour. Thanks to Seth and the boys from the US Coast Guard for guiding the way... 4 hrs 30 mins, 7m... Not lost, we knew exactly where we were... we ran out of day. Grand adventure, eh?"

Crowe has been working on Long Island in recent weeks filming Darren Aronofsky's new biblical epic Noah.