Second chance to smooch Sandra

28 Days is "Sandra Bullock does re-hab".

I play her drunken English boyfriend, Jasper. We have lots of drinking and shagging scenes at the beginning, and then she crashes her car and gets sent to rehab. I come and visit her a lot, and propose to her - I'm aware I'm losing her. It's a good role because I'm the only one who sticks up for boozers. It was also nice having a part where you didn't have to worry about late nights. I had to be drunk in most scenes and look terrible.

I was so nervous about meeting Sandra Bullock that I fluffed the audition the first time. We had to get the chemistry going, and it didn't happen - I couldn't relax - so I lost the part. But Sandra saw me in A Midsummer Night's Dream, and I got a second go. I still can't work out what the purpose of nerves are, except that they give you an energy. For Sandra, it was a different from her usual roles - I think that was the intention. I haven't seen all her films, but I think she wanted something darker than what she usually does. She goes through the mill, y'know, as you would in rehab. Some heavy stuff. So it is a departure for her.

No one drank on set. Because it was about alcoholism, everyone was very wary about it. I think everyone in America is normally anyway. You'd go for a drink after the shoot, but nothing like you would with English or European actors. But then you'd scratch the surface and get people on their own and they'd prove to be huge drinkers.