Louis Theroux has described the time he worked with Tiger King star Joe Exotic back in 2011.
The famous BBC filmmaker, 49, admitted he found controversial Joe "likeable and friendly" as he shared his thoughts on the new Netflix docu-series.
Theroux had filmed his own hour-long documentary - America's Most Dangerous Pets - years ago, where he met the former zoo owner.
The recent wild Netflix series follows Joe, 57, who had 176 tigers held in captivity, and animal rights campaigner Carole Baskin, who is his enemy.
Exotic was sent to prison for 22 years for plotting a murder-for-hire of Carole.
Describing the moment he first met the star, Louis thought Joe was a rather "likeable" character and revealed it was "hard to dislike" the zoo keeper.
But the filmmaker doesn't agree with the practice of keeping tigers in cages.
Theroux wrote in his piece for The Times : "Joe struck me as likeable and friendly.
"I warmed to him, and his ridiculousness was endearing rather than annoying."
He added: "Still, as awful as the practice is, and despite the many compromises and cruelties entailed in Joe's running of the GW zoo, it was hard to dislike the man himself."
Louis said maybe it was because he didn't "hide many of his misdeeds" or "took himself too seriously".
In fact, the documentary-maker admitted he felt "inclined to be a little protective of him".
In his piece, Louis also admitted his vendetta for Baskin goes as far back as when they worked together on the documentary - which is likely to be 2010.
He wrote: "Joe's grudge against Carole preoccupied him when we filmed.
"He would rant about her, mentioning his belief that she'd had one of her husbands killed."
The star went on to say he enjoyed Tiger King, but revealed he was "slightly envious" that he'd "missed the opportunity to be involved in a global smash".
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