Tyra Banks: I'm Really Not Confrontational Like My 'Top Model' Persona (VIDEO)

WATCH: Tyra Banks Reveals She's Really Kind Of A Wuss

The country knows Tyra Banks as the stern diva castigating wanna-be models into submission on "America's Next Top Model."

But Tyra, the TV host and New York Times bestselling author (really), told Larry King in a rare flash of introspection last night that, you know, her tough-girl shtick? It's all an act.

"When I did my show ["America's Next Top Model"], I also created a persona," Tyra says in the clip from last night's "Dinner With The King," a special segment that also featured the likes of Conan O'Brien, Russell Brand, Shaquille O'Neal and Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey.

"It's a character," Tyra earnestly tells Conan, gesticulating with her pink manicured hands. "Like, in real life, I'm passive-aggressive ... I'm even in coaching to, like, learn how to be confrontational."

"You're very sexy," Larry King interrupts in his baritone growl. "You're a sex symbol."

"I'm not sexy in real life!" Tyra protests, mussing her hair around and mugging for an imaginary camera. "I can turn it on for a picture, but...I'm not sexy right now."

Ah, the power of the "smize."

Watch the clip below:

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