Melissa McCarthy: Jason Statham in Spy is super funny

Spy may be filled with a lot of famous comedy faces, but the person who made Melissa McCarthy crack up the most on set was none other than Jason Statham.

“I broke a lot with him,” she told EW and People editorial director Jess Cagle, adding, “Him coming close and angry to me and then saying nonsense kind of destroyed me.”

McCarthy talked with Cagle about the unusual choice to cast an action star like Statham in such a comedic role, and she said it was his deadpan work in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels that convinced her of his comedy chops. In fact, when she and Statham sat down to read through the script with director Paul Feig and make any necessary adjustments, it was Statham who had both McCarthy and Feig crying with laughter.

“Literally, Jason read like three pages, and we were laughing so hard, Paul was like, ‘I don’t want to do any more. I’m not changing a thing,’” McCarthy said.

She also talked about some of the intense stunts she had to perform, including a scene that has her dangling from a helicopter as Statham clings to her for dear life.

“There was also a moment when Jason Statham literally is crawling up my body like a ladder that I was like, what am I doing, and how did I get here?” she said.

Spy is out now.