Clockwise from here:
Ryan Reynolds and
Samuel L. Jackson
buddy up for The
Hitman’s Bodyguard;
Reynolds as bodyguard
Michael Bryce;
Jackson’s hitman
Darius Kincaid with wife
Sonia (Salma Hayek);
The pair indulging in
some nun fun; Darius
mid-boat chase
in Amsterdam.Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds made
a film together in 2013, but didn’t cross paths
once. That’s because the film was CG animation
Turbo, a not-exactly-classic tale of a common
garden snail (voiced by Reynolds) who dreams
of being a racer, and is at one point given a pep
talk by a mouthy mollusc named Whiplash
(Jackson). “You can do 300 animated movies for
DreamWorks and never once meet a co-star,”
explains Reynolds. “Those are odd jobs.”
The film that has finally got them together
properly is The Hitman’s Bodyguard. An
unashamed throwback to the buddy movies
of the ’80s and ’90s, the action comedy sees
Reynolds’ bodyguard-with-a-past Michael
Bryce (who’s also a control freak) assigned to
Jackson’s assassin Darius Kincaid (who could
not be more laidback) to ensure he gets to
court on time to testify against an evil Eastern
European dictator (Gary Oldman, obviously).
It’s full of action, bickering, glamorous locations
around Europe, car chases, 12-letter swearwords
and ironically deployed tunes.
But its main draw is its superstar pairing.
“Sometimes you can look at someone on
screen and go, ‘That guy looks like fun,’” says
Jackson. And you get there and the guy is not
fun. He is an asshole. You think, ‘Wow, this guy
is a better actor than I thought.’ But Ryan was
great. It worked out very well.”
Meeting with Empire in a boutique
New York hotel, the pair settle into an easy,
entertaining routine: Jackson holds court,
while Reynolds chips in with smart interjections.
It’s like being in a 3D buddy movie — minus the
car chase.
“Motherfucker” in used a lot in this film.
What is the joy of “motherfucker”?
Ryan Reynolds: It has so many syllables you
can roll around in your mouth.
Samuel L. Jackson: The British don’t use it.
Reynolds: It’s like how you use the word “cunt”.
Jackson: When I came to London to make
Ragtime in 1980, it’s how people knew I was
American. I would be at Euston train station
and these soccer yobs would start chanting at me