It's no surprise that James McAvoy claims that getting "physical" with Angelina Jolie is "great fun," at least not until you hear about her knuckle-dusters. Maybe it was all just part of the British McAvoy's cultural immersion program for his role as American slacker-turned-assassin Wesley Gibson in Universal's newest blow-em-up blockbuster, Wanted. Here, he tells reporters about his battles with Jolie, his preparation for the role and how he managed to perfect his American accent. 

Q: It was so fun to see you in this, but tell me about making that huge switch from British, basically doing a lot of period pieces, to an American dweeb.

A: Yeah it was a big change for me, playing this kind of American action anti-hero who starts off completely clinically depressed almost, in a very dark place. Big change, but that was why I took it, really, to have a new challenge, to try something different, to see if I could learn some new things. And it did, it satisfied all of those things.

So I had a great time making it, and it was also a little bit of wish fulfillment for the teenage boy who is inside me, doing all the big action scenes and all that stuff. It was great fun.

Q: Great. Now did you get hurt in any of those action scenes? They were brutal on you.

A: Yeah, but I was really lucky. I got through 4 ½ months of this, and I did quite a lot of my own stunts, not all of them, you know what I mean — my stuntman did a hell of a lot — but doing quite a lot of my own stunts, I ended getting away without breaking anything.  I think I sprained my wrist at one point, turned an ankle and bent a knee, and all that kind of thing, but other than that it was just bruises, of which I had hundreds and hundreds and hundreds, in large part due to and thanks to Angelina Jolie getting a little dig in every now and again when we were doing fight scenes. 

Q: How did it feel to play a character who gets his butt kicked by a woman?

A: Hey man, that’s the best part of my day. It was great fun.  Doing fight scenes is great; getting beat up is better than beating someone else up I think.  I love being covered in the blood, and kind of selling the punch, and making it look [good]. I love all that, it’s great fun.

Q: So Angelina Jolie would get an extra elbow in or...

A: Extra elbow, knuckle-duster in the side, all that kind of stuff. She enjoys the physical stuff, the violent stuff.

Q: That’s interesting. Now your character goes from, as you said, being almost clinically depressed, really feeling like he’s not worth much, to becoming this super assassin.  Did go through any kind of a change?

A: Did I actually become a super assassin?  I did actually, yes.

Q: You’re in great shape.

A: I got in better shape anyway. I went to the gym, you know, five times a week, 90 minutes a day, kind of for about 4 ½ - 5 months, and then 6 weeks before we even started filming as well.  And that was a big deal for me because I’m not really that kind of guy. I don’t really do that kind of thing.  But it was quite an education, and I have to admit I have not been anywhere near the gym since I finished making this film, so weird, very weird.

Q: I have to say you American accent was flawless.

A: Thank you very much. You’re very kind.

Q: I was stunned to hear that. Say something so our viewers can hear.

A: I refuse you have to watch the film.

Q: You won’t use it again?

A: I’ll use it again but when I’m being paid...Listen, when people do accents in movies and people go, "Hey, can you do the accent now for our viewers?" and you go, "Yeah, yeah," it’s always terrible. It never works. It’s always like full of nerves, and now so I can’t, so I won’t. I’m afraid.

Q: You were fabulous though. I mean I was really amazed to hear that.

A: Thank you. You’re very kind. Thank you.

Q: And I think your coach, Orlando Bloom ought to hire your coach.

A: I didn’t have a coach on this one. I usually use somebody great called Jill McCullough when I do an American accent, but she wasn’t available. So I thought if I can’t have Jill, I’m winging it.

Q: You did that on your own?

A: Well yeah. You got lot of Americans around you; you’re stealing from them at all times. So you watch a lot of American TV and a lot of American films, and just kind of repeat phrases until people go mad around you, going, "Shut up, stop doing that accent."  But yeah, you just get through somehow, don’t you?