Jason Flemyng, one of the acting world's most distinctive figures even if you're never quite sure of his name (not helped by unusual surname spelling) moves with ease between the swimmy world of the Hollywood hills, and the greasy spoon cafes with which he is equally associated.
Wild Bill is the brainchild of Flemyng's great friend, Dexter Fletcher, pictured with him here
His latest enterprise, Wild Bill, sits firmly in the latter category, a gritty East London caper that sits easily with Flemyng's other projects Snatch and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Flemyng's part isn't massive - Charlie Creed-Miles and Will Poulter are the leads - so what drew him in?
"Two words... Dexter Fletcher," he replies instantly of his fellow Lock, Stock alumnus. "He wrote it and directed it, so he came knocking, and it's a fun part. I could film in London close to home, what's there not to like?"
Flemyng with an unrecognisable Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Flemyng will go where the work takes him, whether that's a London greasy spoon or a Hollywood film set, for the likes of Benjamin Button, and X Men: First Class. He is quoted as describing himself as "the man who stands behind the famous bloke". Is he genuinely happy with this?
"Oh, my goodness, yes," comes the immediate reply. "Some blokes came round to do stuff on my house, and they said, 'you're never the lead, are you?' I asked them, 'Have you seen the road I live on?"
Flemyng is a unusual combination of down-to-earth normality - he's chatting to me before duty calls as a new father - and a catalogue of superstar friends, not least his co-star in Snatch and Benjamin Button, Brad Pitt.
"Brad Pitt's coffee machine cost more than the entire budget of Wild Bill - fact," he reveals, chuckling.
On the set of Snatch with his mate Brad Pitt
"I can't say enough good things about Brad," he goes on, disappointingly - no tantrum gossip to be found here, even the coffee machine was a shared one, it turns out. "He's always been really kind to me, always looked out for me. He's a great bloke and a good friend."
Flemyng is one of the more distinctive red-heads on the big screen, a badge he wears with pride.
"I love it - it's like a club of VW owners. We give each other the nod when we pass. My ambition is to make a film with only red-heads in it - Rupert Grint, Damian Lewis, everyone... "
Wild Bill is out now on Blu-ray and DVD. Watch the trailer below...