Mark Ronson had to change his accent to fit in at school.

The London-born producer admits he had to soften his English tones to avoid being bullied when he moved to the US as a youngster.

Speaking about one of his favourite movies, 'Zelig', he explained: "It's sort of a mockumentary, Woody Allen plays the lead and he changes his appearance depending on what group of people he's with.

"I moved to New York when I was a kid, and I remember having to change my accent to stop me from getting beaten up by other kids, so I've always had a lot of sympathy with Woody's character."

The 'Stop Me' hitmaker also admitted he loves reading about "f****d up" people.

He added: "The book that changed me would be 'The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man' by James Joyce. It's the first book you read in school that's about someone the same age as you, who's got the same messed-up life you do.

"It was the first thing I ever read with a wonderfully flawed kid trying to do s**t. I like f****d up people - for the same reason I like 'Crime and Punishment' too."