Tatum, Berry come full Circle

Looks like there are no hard feelings between Channing Tatum and Halle Berry.

In July, he famously dared his Kingsman: The Golden Circle co-star to chug a glass of whiskey at the San Diego Comic-Con panel for their movie, which she gamely did in front of thousands of film geeks and fanboys.

After all, the new additions to the action-comedy spy franchise play members of the American counterpart of the Kings­man - the Statesman, founded by a group of self-made bourbon billionaires.

Tatum joins the fray as Agent Tequila ("To Kill Ya, actually - it's an interesting spelling," he quips) and was a rodeo clown before he became a Statesman.

Berry is Ginger Ale, the Statesman's tech guru and the brains of the outfit.

During her appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show earlier this month, she revealed she was really ill for three days after the San Diego dare.

Tatum made up for it on Ellen's show, surprising her with topless male dancers from Magic Mike Live - a Las Vegas show he conceived and co-directed based on his hit movies Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL - who gave Berry a lap dance.

" I hadn’t even heard of it. Then the materials for the movie started coming out and I realised that was what Sam was telling me about. And it just looked so fresh and new. I was a fan before I even saw it."Channing Tatum

HOW THEY GOT INVOLVED

Rewind to the press conference at Comic-Con two months ago at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront hotel, with the Hollywood duo recalling how they got involved in the sequel to 2015's Kingsman: The Secret Service, which earned more than US$400 million (S$539 million) at the worldwide box office.

In The Golden Circle, which is showing here, secret agent Eggsy (Taron Egerton) and the Kingsman team up with the Statesman to battle another megalomaniacal villain, sociopathic drug dealer Poppy Adams (Julianne Moore).

Tatum shared about how he ran into his buddy, US actor Samuel L. Jackson, who told him about the first film, in which he played main baddie Valentine.

Tatum, 37, said: "I hadn't even heard of it. Then the materials for the movie started coming out and I realised that was what Sam was telling me about.

"And it just looked so fresh and new. I was a fan before I even saw it. And then seeing it, it has such a unique style and it was so aware of itself at the time... Matthew (Vaughn) happens to be an amazing film-maker, he pulls it off."

So when Tatum was offered a small role in The Golden Circle, he was happy to take it.

"Just to come and play in their world, I really felt like you win a ticket to be an extra in a movie that you really love."

US actress Berry, 51, thought she would be a bit "snobby" about the first movie since she is an alumnus of the James Bond movies - she memorably emerged from the ocean in a bikini as Jinx in 2002's Die Another Day - but she loved it.

She said: "It is fast-paced, smart, funny. That church scene? I'd never seen one like that before. And I was filled with questions. How did they do that? How did that happen?"

One of the reasons things "happen" is Vaughn is a fan of shooting multiple takes.

"After that first take, you are like, there is no more adrenaline left," Tatum laughingly lamented, then deadpanned, "we have 12 more, 16 more, 21 more hours of this."

Berry called Vaughn an "uncompromising" perfectionist.

"He does it and does it and does it until he gets it right. He is forward-thinking, he is surprising the audience. But he is also a really nice human for actors to work with. He is collaborative. He listens."

Tatum added: "As fun as his movies are, I don't know if I have ever seen the man laugh.

"And I noticed a quirk of his. When you say something funny that maybe you think is funny where people laugh, he doesn't laugh. And then he generally shoots back something that is equally as funny but from his point of view.

"And for him to make a movie that is so fun and funny at times, it is really odd to me. It is an English thing, I think."

Tatum loves London, where they filmed, particularly because he hung out with Vaughn who showed him around.

"If you are going to see London, you want to see it with Matthew Vaughn to have the full experience. I got to see places that probably no one would really get to see unless you were with someone like Matthew who knows the right people."

So were they sightseeing or drinking?

"Both. His sightseeing generally involves drinking," he said with a laugh.

Even though her Kingsman character doesn't exactly get to go out on the field, action scenes are one of Berry's favourite things to do.

"I was a gymnast, I wanted to go to the Olympics. I did all floor exercises but I was best at parallel bars. And I thought that was what I was going to do with my life. So when I get to do that in films, I get to realise a lost dream and I just get off on that," she said.

Berry also thinks she'd be a good spy in real life.

"I am really sneaky. I can figure some stuff out. It is really living that double life that nobody knows about. I think people like the idea of that."