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Ryan Reynolds: Making The Hitman's Bodyguard with Samuel L. Jackson was a blast

Nearly everybody the notoriously lethal hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) has ever met across the globe want him dead - but that's only if Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds), the vigilant bodyguard recruited to protect him at all costs, doesn't shoot him out of sheer infuriation first.

The hair-triggering rivalry and potential joining of forces between a high-flying, Triple-A rated hired gun and a protection specialist results in an outrageous, fast-paced action comedy that twists and twines the hitman thriller, the bodyguard romance and the odd-couple buddy comedy into one irreverently fun ride.

Says Ryan Reynolds: "I love the bond between Bryce and Kincaid. These two guys couldn't be more polarized but as we move through the story they start to acquire begrudging love and respect for each other. There's a bromance and several love stories all wrapped up in this incredible, crazy action story."

Reynolds describes Bryce as "a man who suffered from extraordinary hubris and took a fall from grace."

He goes on: "Bryce lost a client which has sent him into a downward spiral of shame. 

"We find him two years after the incident and though he's probably still the best in the business, he's basically at a loss.

"Then his ex-girlfriend asks him to do this job he really doesn't want but that he needs. In a nutshell, he has to protect a man who has spent the better part of a decade trying to kill him."

That's how Bryce comes to accompany his insufferable foe Kincaid through a maze of lethal obstacles, and ends up confronting himself in the process.

"Bryce can be arrogant and prideful - and Kincaid pushes all those buttons," Reynolds explains.

"He's got Bryce's number whether Bryce would like to admit that or not. Therein lies the connection that happens between these two guys. In a weird way Kincaid ends up making my character look at himself, and in the unsettling way only Sam Jackson can."

The rapport with Jackson was immediate and led to both actors letting it fly, says Reynolds.

He said: "Sam and I have a lot of moments where we just get to play, and that was important to creating the unique bond between our characters.

"Sam is so good at improv, he can play ball with the best of them, and that is my background as well so we just got out there and had as much fun as we could. We had a good thing going."

Although the focus was on anarchic fun, Reynolds also had to focus on some intense physical work, especially because he likes to do as many of his own stunts as possible - and there were plenty of them.

He was thrilled to reunite here with legendary stunt coordinator Greg Powell, who had lots of wild ideas in store for the film. 

"I've done a few films with either Greg Powell or his brother Gary before and with these two guys you always want to impress them and go as hard as you possibly can.

"The only problem is that sometimes I push myself a little too hard and forget that I am 39 years old and cement hurts," he quips.

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