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Antonio Banderas was keen to do his own chainsaw stunts on Ruby Sparks, the film's directors have revealed.
The Spanish film star plays a bohemian wood-carver in the quirky comedy, about a troubled writer (Paul Dano) whose written creation Ruby Sparks (Zoe Kazan) comes to life.
Valerie Faris, who co-directed the film with her husband Jonathan Dayton, said of Antonio: "He actually does wield the chainsaw. We had a stunt person lined up and he was like, 'No I can do it myself'. He's a great guy."
Annette Bening stars as the hippie mother of Paul's character in the film, with Antonio as her lover.
"Antonio is just sort of playing himself. He's so funny and had a lot of ideas. And Annette I think enjoyed playing someone who was much more laid back than a lot of the characters she plays and she loved having all that hair!"
Valerie and Jonathan have not directed a film since the 2006 hit Little Miss Sunshine.
"We worked on so many other films during that time, so we felt like we'd sort of been through the process before. I didn't feel it hanging over us in the way that a lot of people imagine," Valerie said.
"Also with a film you're so immersed in what the challenges of that film and the task at hand that it's enough to keep you occupied."
Jonathan added: "I'm happy to be back with a film that's showing at theatres. There's nothing like travelling around and showing the film and sharing it with people."
