Hollywood actor Ryan Phillippe fears his worries about the paparazzi have given his daughter AVA a nervous disposition.

The Crash star - who has Ava, eight, and son Deacon, four, with ex-wife Reese Witherspoon - admits he often became angry and snapped at photographers when they tried to take pictures of his daughter when she was a baby.

And Philippe is convinced his fearful reactions have had a negative affect on his little girl.

He says, "She’s aware and it creates in her a lot of anxiety, which is partly my fault. When Ava was very young, I’d get visibly angry with the paparazzi back then.

"She was my first child and my instinct was to protect her. I think the attitude I had at the time did create in her a lot of the fearfulness she has today."

But Phillippe is relieved that his anxieties did not rub on Ava’s younger brother, Deacon.

He adds, "Mainly because since his birth I’ve realised that you’ve got to make it seem like less of a big deal."