To many people Paul Hogan is the quintessential Australian.

He embodies many of the qualities people associate with Australia — irreverence, friendliness, lack of pretention — and was largely responsible for selling that image to the world through his tourism ads and the character of Mick Dundee.

But Hogan's relationship with Australia became strained in the late 1980s.

The problems started after the launch of Crocodile Dundee II, when he revealed he had left his wife of 30 years for his young co-star, Linda Kozlowski.

"When Paul and Noelene split, the whole image of Paul being this ordinary guy from the bridge was interrupted in people's minds," says Peter Faiman, who directed The Paul Hogan Show and Crocodile Dundee.

Friend and former colleague Delvene Delaney told ABC's Australian Story the media wanted to destroy Hogan.

"I remember him saying to the press, 'I'm not a tall poppy, I'm an ironbark tree. You can't cut me down.' But they tried."

Linda Kozlowski and Paul Hogan met on the set of Crocodile Dundee. ( Supplied: Crocodile Dundee )

Hogan was taken aback by the ferocity of the media coverage, particularly in Britain.

He resented the implication he had abandoned his family.

"They painted this picture of these five little kids standing at the gate — 'When's Daddy coming home?'" Hogan recalled.

"They were all grown up except one, and he was 14. People forget how young I was when I started parenting."

The media scrutiny was intense. ( Supplied )

But what really upset Hogan was the treatment of Kozlowski. He was used to media attention, even if it had been largely sympathetic for most of his career. Kozlowski, however, was utterly unprepared.

Trained at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York, she had just performed a small role in Death of a Salesman on Broadway when she auditioned for Crocodile Dundee.

Two years later she was tabloid fodder, referred to as "the definitive dumb blonde bimbette" in newspapers.

In an interview with Channel Nine's 60 Minutes at the height of the furore, Hogan was barely able to contain his rage. "I want to cave in heads, I really do," he seethed. "From Rupert Murdoch, right down the line."

After announcing their relationship, Hogan and Kozlowski moved to Byron Bay, not far from Hogan's closest friends, Delaney and husband John "Strop" Cornell, the man who had steered his career.

Although the media in Australia never attacked the couple with the ferocity of the English press, the constant attention eventually wore them down.

"It was awful for Linda," Delaney said.

"Every time she came to Byron Bay there'd be some sneaky paparazzi lurking in the bushes trying to photograph her bare bum. And not only that, she was still painted as this scarlet woman and yet she was legitimately Paul's wife.

"It was really unfair."

In the late 1990s, Kozlowski's mother became very ill and the couple decided to relocate to Los Angeles to be closer to her. They returned to Australia for a few years in about 2000 but then moved again to LA in about 2003. Hogan has lived there ever since.

Los Angeles suited Hogan. "It was entertaining to me," he said. "There's lots of galahs there, lots of people with very distorted opinions of themselves and it's good fun."

The greatest attraction about living in LA, however, was the anonymity it afforded.

"I'm unknown," he said. "I can just put me sunglasses on or a cap or something and no-one recognises me and that's a luxury."

The media scrutiny put pressure on Paul Hogan and his wife Linda Kozlowski, prompting their move to Los Angeles. ( Reuters: Ian Waldie )

'I wasn't charged, but it's still attached to me'

Any homesickness Hogan might have felt for his country of birth must have been tempered by the long investigation into his financial affairs by the Australian Tax Office (ATO). That began quietly in the early 2000s, but reached its peak in 2010 when Hogan was slapped with a departure prohibition order on his return to Australia for his mother's funeral.

Two years later Hogan reached a confidential settlement with the ATO and no charges against him were ever laid. But the damage was done.

"It has besmirched his reputation a bit, especially in Australia," his son Todd said. "Even mates of mine will make a crack about it."

Hogan agrees.

"I wasn't charged but I've still got it attached to me," he said.

"It never depressed me or anything but it made me angry — made me want to thump somebody. I haven't really got it out of me system yet."

These days Hogan lives a quiet life in Los Angeles, only working occasionally when he gets bored. He and Kozlowski divorced in 2013, although they had separated long before that.

"It was a great example of opposites attract," Hogan said. "And then one day, they're just opposites.

"We never had any bitterness or fighting, never anything like that. Just sort of wore out, and we moved on."

Actor Paul Hogan poses with his then wife actress Linda Kozlowski during a break in filming on the set of Crocodile Dundee in LA. ( Reuters: Fred Prouser )

'I'm not a great husband, I'm a bit of a hermit'

By Hollywood standards, Hogan has led an uneventful private life. His first marriage lasted 30 years and his second more than 20. But he acknowledges he is not the easiest person to live with because of his solitary nature.

"I'm not a great husband," he said.

"I'm good early but then it's sort of runs out because I'm a little bit of a hermit. I do enjoy my own company — I'll sit around doing crosswords or go for walks by myself, that sort of thing."

Hogan turns 80 next month and is increasingly feeling the pull of his homeland.

All the movies he had made in the past 15 years have been shot in Australia, with director Dean Murphy, and he returns home frequently.

He recently finished work with Murphy on a new movie, The Very Excellent Mr Dundee, which will be released early next year.

"He's always missed home and he's always spent a lot more time here than people realise," Murphy said.

"He's back and forth all the time but he doesn't call a press conference when he comes back to spend time with his family."

Paul Hogan says he still lives in Los Angeles to support his 21-year-old son Chance Hogan (right). ( Instagram: @Chance_the_Bum )

What keeps Hogan in America these days is Chance, the son he had with Kozlowski. Hogan took custody of Chance, who is now 21, when he and Kozlowski separated.

"I'm only living in Los Angeles because he's not ready for me to leave," Hogan said.

"He's got his own friends that he grew up with and his band, they're in LA. So the minute he's set, or he comes with me, I'm back here.

"I've had my share of Los Angeles. I'd have come years ago if he'd have come with me."

Todd Hogan has no doubt where his father's loyalty lies.

"He will come back to Australia for sure," he said. "This is home. It's always been home for him."

Watch the two-part Australian Story, A Fortunate Life with Paul Hogan, on iview or Youtube.

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