Shortly after seeing the film, I shared 15 minutes with Mr Watkins in a posh London hotel room.

He was a lovely chap, as youll probably be able to gather from the transcript of our chat… How did you go about making him likeable?

How do you make a criminal a nice guy?

Im glad you found him likeable, thats good!

It was a challenge, in approach and casting.

Guilt, and a sense that hes made some bad choices.

Because he could quite easily be a very annoying and very unlikeable selfish guy.

But I think Richard was able to inhabit it in a way that you understand and sympathise…

Were you familiar with Richard fromGame Of Thrones, at all?

Hes very noble in that…

I dont really watch a load ofGame Of Thrones.

Obviously, Ive watched some of Richard in that, and thats where I was aware of his work.

Yeah, they almost start feeling like a classic reluctant buddy duo, dont they?

You know, I looked at48 Hoursby Walter Hill.

Or, one of those Don Siegel/Clint Eastwood sort of collaborations; sort of aDirty HarryorPopeye Doyle.

Particularly in terms of Idris, I looked at some of those.

And Walker, the character that Lee Marvin plays inPoint Blankwas a real reference for Idris.

This big rock stone granite guy thats just a force of nature.

Hes just gonna barge through every door and no ones gonna get in his way.

And Richard is kind of the terrier thats nipping at his heels, and constantly at him.

Theres a little bit, actually, ofMidnight Run.

Idris and I talked a lot about Idris being in the De Niro sort of place, you know?

Was it always Idris?

I thought he was interesting.

Hes a wonderful actor and hes got this charisma and a real presence on screen.

He really eats up the screen, in the way.

And the big screen, you know?

Hes one of these actors that gets bigger, better on the big screen.

People online seem to be saying online that this is his Bond audition tape

[Laughs] Yeah.

And Im sure hes sick of hearing that!

Yeah, I guessed as much!

I didnt think of it as his Bond audition, at all.

In terms of front and centre, playing kind of an action hero in many ways.

I thought, hang on a minute, people have missed a real opportunity here!

So, of course… why hasnt he done this?

You know, even in Thor, you dont see it.

It doesnt showcase that side of Idris, really.

And I thought wow, lets showcase it.

And he can do an American accent!

My favourite scene in the film is probably the rooftop chase.

Were you consciously trying not to make it a glitzy thing?

The word that we used a lot was scrappy.

Both in terms of the rooftop chase and all the fight sequences.

And I wanted the rooftop chase because Im afraid of heights to have a really vertiginous scariness about it.

So firstly we shot on a real rooftop.

They did a lot of practise, and its the actors running across on the rooftop.

Its them, it feels immediate, youre right in there with them.

And I dont think you necessarily should.

You lose that sort of human dimension, and you get all the stuff breaking the laws of physics.

Its actually much more interesting to go there.

And the sound design, as well.

The sense that they could fall off this roof or go through it.

To keep that sense of ooh, Jesus!

Do you think you think your experience with horror helps with that?

To get into the emotions and the sensations?

I know Im very interested in tension in film.

I wanted to cut it as tight as I could and as fast as I could.

To have that, and to maintain the sense of held tension at points.

I think people enjoy that.

Like, how did you work differently on this compared toThe Woman In Black?

Its more… physically demanding.

So, I really wanted the action on the screen.

Constantly trying to push push push, to get… to make action work.

Woman In Blackis a film where its very withheld.

Its the long takes and slow tracking shots.

For action to work you need an awful lot of coverage.

So you should probably really, really cover it.

To shoot so quickly.

We were working at such a relentless pace.

But you want it to feel like youre watching a big movie.

A Friday night movie where people can enjoy the action and its not in any way short-changed.

I mean, it does touch on social anxieties.

And we had film crew and cast who were in Paris, and our hearts are with them all.

But I think in terms of the film, it touches upon those social anxieties.

Exclusion, and fear, and disenfranchisement and how those can be manipulated.

I think its more about that, you know?

Are there any other genres or topics youd like to tackle?

What have you got your eyes on next?

Im hoping, in a couple of months, there may be some kind of announcement… Id love to see a recut of that film.

I think theres some fantastic sequences within that film.

ProbablyLock Stock, to be honest, would be my favourite.

James Watkins, thank you very much!