They were the photos that sparked alarm.

Paul Hogan - appearing frail, hunched in a wheelchair - pushed through Sydney Airport as he returned home.

For months, the questions have swirled. Is Hoges okay? What’s happened to the man who brought Mick Dundee to life?

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Now, in a candid sit-down with 7NEWS, the icon is finally opening up.

At 85, Paul Hogan still flashes that famous grin. But when asked about those photos, he doesn’t shy away.

“They got me in the wheelchair…” he says. Then a pause - and a story no one saw coming.

Tonight on 7NEWS, you’ll hear it all.

Not just what really happened that day, but what’s been happening in Hogan’s life away from the spotlight.

He speaks with warmth about his youngest son, Chance, and with brutal honesty about the headlines that have hurt them both.

He shares what it’s like to go from working on the Harbour Bridge to dinner with Hollywood royalty.

And the iconic moment Clint Eastwood quoted his line back to him.

This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the original Crocodile Dundee release, which went on to earn more than USD$300 million and put Australia on the map.

A new documentary revisits the phenomenon and the man behind it, with Hogan reflecting on the whirlwind that changed his life forever.

But even after all the fame, fortune and attention, there’s one thing Paul Hogan wants more than anything.

“To come home,” he says.

“I want to come back,” he tells 7NEWS presenter Sally Bowrey. “Because I want to die here.”

It’s raw, surprising, and Paul Hogan as you’ve never seen him before.

Why was he in that wheelchair? What’s next for Hoges?

Find out in the full exclusive - only on 7NEWS, tonight at 6.