You’ve said before that you think women don’t like you very much. Are you crazy?

Jason: I’m not a conventional leading man. Hollywood wasn’t knocking down my door to play Captain America. But people like to root for the underdog. I’m just not that compelled by people who get women easily and everything comes to them. We hate those people, right? That’s not what my life has ever been like. I like having to fight for things. 

What has made your mum most proud do you think?

J: I stayed nice.

What’s the secret to that?

J: I think as I’ve got older, the things I care about have really narrowed. They are my friends and my family and being nice. I don’t really buy into any of the accolades or the disappointments of this business. We’re in La-La-Land, it’s all cuckoosville. Being nice is the key. And anyway, you get what you want more easily if you’re nice. I don’t understand why people choose to be mean.

We’ll see you in April in The Five Year Engagement with Emily Blunt. Is she your first British leading lady?

J: She is. She’s in The Muppets too and we’re really good friends. I realized after doing Five Year Engagement that that is a really potent recipe – being proper friends with your co-star in a romantic comedy. You can accomplish the passionate scenes with anyone. It’s all about the mundane scenes when we’re sitting around talking. You can tell we’ve known each other forever. I think that’s what makes this movie really special.