Steve Coogan Talks 'Around The World In 80 Days'

[Monday, June 14th, 2004]
Steve Coogan, who stars in the upcoming Around the World in 80 Days, says all the action is left to co-star Jackie Chan. "Well, I wouldn't call it a leap to action hero," Coogan told Sci-Fi Wire. "Really, part of the joke in the movie is that I don't actually do any fighting at all. [Chan] does everything. Even when it's behind my back, unbeknownst to me, he's still fighting."

"At the end, I rescue Jackie," he adds. "Part of the joke of the film is he does all this fighting all the way through, and at the very end, in a slightly ham-fisted, incompetent way, I go back and I do something brave for someone else, because all through the movie, I'm trying to win this bet, and he's trying to get back to his people in Lang Xao."

Coogan says his character is different to the one played by David Niven in the 1956 version of the film. "David Niven's rendition of the character is very close to the way it's written in the book. He's kind of passive, inscrutable, undemonstrative about emotion and utterly confident of his ability to win this bet. Even though [Niven] did it very well in the original one, that doesn't appeal as a performance. I like the idea to have somebody who on the outside is very confident, on the inside is slightly vulnerable and nervous about his ability. Most people have those kind of insecurities, so it gives you more opportunity for comedy, because it's always funny when someone's trying to appear one way, but inside they're feeling something different."

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