abnervaught: 'Change-Up' Blurs Line Between Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman

Friday, August 5, 2011

'Change-Up' Blurs Line Between Ryan Reynolds, Jason Bateman

'Some of them stuck with me,' Reynolds tells MTV News of picking up Bateman's mannerisms on set.
By Kara Warner

Jason Bateman and Ryan Reynolds at the premiere of "The Change-Up"
Photo: Jon Kopaloff/ FilmMagic

In order to properly fulfill their duties as characters who swap bodies in raunchy comedy "The Change-Up," stars Ryan Reynolds and Jason Bateman spent some quality time learning each other's respective personality traits and mannerisms. Unsurprisingly, when the film wrapped, the real-life friends found that letting go of their newly acquired traits wasn't easy.

"Some of them stuck with me," Reynolds told MTV News, recalling a phrase he had used earlier. "Like when I said 'real long,' that's you," he said, turning to Bateman. "I'm doing you right there."

"This guy will motivate you to work a little bit harder," Bateman said, shifting the discussion toward flat-out praise for Reynolds' acting abilities, including his impression of Bateman himself. "[What] some actors will do when you're doing comedies is that, during the time it takes between when you rehearse a scene and when you shoot it, they light the scene," he explained. "You go in your dressing room, and if you have a good work ethic, you'll write down some extra jokes to say when they shoot the scene. This guy, they just fall right out of his head, quickly and as high-quality as Mr. Vince Vaughn. I don't have those skills," Bateman admitted. "I have to write stuff down. He forces my game up quite a bit, so I did a lot of studying in my trailer."

"What a nice thing to say," Reynolds said to Bateman.

When asked if either actor ever felt awkward watching his friend impersonate the other onscreen, Reynolds admitted that Bateman did such a good job that he felt envious of his friend's role.

"You know what was unsettling is he did it so damn well that I sort of sat there going, 'God, I should have played that part,' " he admitted. " 'I should have done that one. That looks like fun.' "

Check out everything we've got on "The Change-Up."

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