The new action comedy The Hitman's Bodyguard stars Ryan Reynolds as a security expert trying to protect Samuel L. Jackson's assassin on the way to testify in a war crimes case at The Hague. But Jackson sees it as more of a bromance, or as he calls it, "an action romcom".

Samuel L. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds in The Hitman's Bodyguard

Working with Reynolds was the big draw for Jackson. "Being able to be in a film with him was the number one reason," he says. "I had a gut feeling about it, because it's funny. But I wouldn't do this thing without him."

And there was one other thing that enticed him: "When they said, 'And you'll be married to Salma Hayek', I was like, 'Oh, wow! Great!' But they never told me, 'Oh but you're not gonna see her' [because they only speak by telephone]. And then all of a sudden that other scene was in there where we met. At least I got to see her for a while. And I was actually more anxious to work with Salma than Ryan, because I've known her longer."

That was certainly more nerve-wracking for Jackson than driving a speedboat through Amsterdam. "First, they took me to the reservoir in Shepperton, and I did speedboat lessons," he explains. "And the great thing about the speedboat is the faster it goes, the safer it is. And the sharper turns you make, the more the waves you get, and the more fishtail and all of that. So by the time we got to Amsterdam, it was kind of like, 'I have to do this in the canals!' And I did it! There were tonnes of people on the bridges watching us. It was great fun."

Indeed in the finished movie, Jackson looks like he's enjoying every moment. "Acting is one of those dream jobs," he admits. "I always liked the movies, from the time I was a kid. I did a lot of pretending with my friends and I did plays and all this other stuff. I looked at Errol Flynn and John Wayne and those guys. It looked like fun, swinging from ship to ship, sword fighting."

And in this movie, Jackson also gets to sing, writing and performing the original song Nobody Gets Out Alive. "I initially improvised the lyrics for the song while filming a scene," he explains. "Then the producers came back and asked me to write the rest of that song. And I'm just waiting on my ASCAP credit to kick in."

Watch the trailer for The Hitman's Bodyguard: