(CNN) -- Woody Harrelson defended his clash with a photographer at a New York airport Wednesday night as a case of mistaken identity -- he says he mistook the cameraman for a zombie. 

Woody Harrelson says he got into a clash with a photographer because he mistook him for a zombie. 

The TMZ photographer filed a complaint with police claiming the actor damaged his camera and pushed him in the face at La Guardia Airport, according to an airport spokesman. 

"We're looking into this allegation and if it's warranted, we'll turn it over to the proper authorities," said Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman Ron Marsico. 

The photographer, who was not identified, captured the encounter on a small camera after his larger one was broken. 

Harrelson, who is being sued by another TMZ photographer for an alleged assault in 2006, did not deny his involvement. 

"I wrapped a movie called 'Zombieland,' in which I was constantly under assault by zombies, then flew to New York, still very much in character," Harrelson said in a statement issued Friday by his publicist. 

"With my daughter at the airport I was startled by a paparazzo, who I quite understandably mistook for a zombie," he said. 

TMZ.com posted two videos of the incident, including one recorded by the larger camera before it was damaged. 

The first video shows the photographer following Harrelson and his daughter down an escalator and out of the terminal. It ends with Harrelson apparently reaching for the lens. 
How many videos were put online?
TMZ.com posted two videos of the incident, 