LONDON:

English actor Paul Bettany lied to The Da Vinci Code director Ron Howard when he was initially approached for the role of the monk Silas by telling him that he had already read the book. According to contactmusic.com, Bettany was thrilled when he got the call from Howard who had previously directed him in the Oscar winning movie A Beautiful Mind. Bettany told Howard he knew the story already. Bettany said: “Ron rang me up and asked me to be in the movie and he said, ‘Monk, assassin and Da Vinci Code’ and it was Ron calling me so I said, ‘Yes!’ immediately. And he asked me if I had read the book and I said, ‘Yes, of course.’ And I hadn’t so I ran and got the book, not in theology and personal growth, but in the fiction department and I read it in two sittings.”