Ryan, when did you first become aware of Sam as
an actor?
Reynolds: I think it was True Romance. He just
turned up and burned a hole in the screen. I just
remember thinking, “Who the hell is that guy?”
Jackson: [The director] Tony Scott had us doing
this scene and there was this whole scripted
passage about cunnilingus and all this other stuff.
When I walk in, Gary Oldman asks me the
question, “Big D, do you eat pussy?” And I’m
like, “Yeah, man, I eat the pussy, I eat the butt, I
eat every motherfuckin’ thing.” That wasn’t
written, it was just the first thing that came into
my mind. I said to Tony, “This will never make it
into the movie.” And he said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah,
but it’s great.” I was surprised they kept the part
I actually did in.
And Sam, when did Ryan first appear on
your radar?
Reynolds: About the fourth week of shooting
on The Hitman’s Bodyguard.
Jackson: I remember there was a lot of talk
about him before I’d seen his work...
Reynolds: I don’t like where this is going.
Jackson: And I had an impression of him based
on what was being written and said about him.
You should always wait and see the work.
Ryan, was it weird being voted Sexiest Man Alive
by People in 2010?
Reynolds: I just thought my older brothers were
going to beat me up. Whoever you are, whether
you are an actor, an author, a sportsman, I guess
it is weird to be reduced to a three-word title in
whatever circumstance — unless you’re, like,
LeBron James [the basketball player nicknamed
‘the L Train’]. It will always be strange to see
yourself summed up on the cover of a magazine.
What is the secret of a good buddy movie?
Jackson: I like these kinds of movies. I love
Midnight Run. Lethal Weapon with Mel Gibson
and Danny Glover.
Reynolds: 48 Hrs. I also think of Bing Crosby
and Bob Hope. Just incredible chemistry.
Jackson: In Die Hard With A Vengeance, my job
was basically to be an audience member in a Die
Hard movie, hanging out with John McClane
and reacting like an ordinary guy thrown in with
a crazy guy who likes guns. But the closest thing
to this would be The Long Kiss Goodnight. I was
in a car with Geena [Davis] a lot. Those movies
are fun when you like the people in them. Even
though in [The Hitman’s Bodyguard] I’m a killer,
I’m a likeable killer. I tend to do that with
characters that are supposedly despicable like
Ordell in Jackie Brown. A very bad person but
fun to hang out with.
Reynolds: Yeah, we’re all the heroes in our
own story.
You both get a lot of action to do here.
What’s your relationship with stunts?
Jackson: For this, a guy jumped off a building
for me and leaped over a staircase. The dude was