-"The Meg" -- you have described the movie as --
like "Jurassic Park" meets "Jaws."
-Yes. -This is a big shark.
-This is a giant shark.
We set out to make the second best shark movie ever.
-Wow. [ Laughter ]
-And I think we have achieved that.
-Well, that's great. -Yeah.
-You got to know what you're aiming for.
-Yes. We tried to take out "Deep Blue Sea."
-Oh, interesting. -You know what I mean?
Little -- Little known shark reference.
-Little known. So you... -Yeah.
-You -- Obviously, a CGI shark. -Yes.
-You couldn't get any sharks to agree to be in this movie.
But -- -They wouldn't do it, yeah.
-But the real -- no CGI -- the real Jason Statham.
You -- First time Wilson and Statham have teamed up.
-[ As Jason Statham ] "Oh, yeah. First time with Statham."
[ Laughter ] "That's right."
-I'd -- See, I would like to be around Jason Statham.
Is it -- Is it as exciting as it sounds?
-I am like a fan girl around Jason Statham.
-Yeah. -I love his movies.
He is one of the few action stars of like --
when he says, like, "I'm going to kick your ass,"
like, you believe him. -Yeah.
-You know? -Yeah.
-He could kick the crap out of people, you know?
-Yeah, I believe that, after takes of his movies,
someone's ass had actually been kicked.
-Yeah. -Yeah.
-No, absolutely.
But someone asked me in a -- in a press tour earlier,
they were saying, like,
"Well, if you were going to voice The Meg,
you know, if it was an animated --
like, who should voice The Meg?"
I was like, "Well, Jason Statham."
-[ Laughing ] Right, yeah.
-And that would be an interesting conversation.
It was be like...
"I'm going to make you bleed, Jack."
And then the shark would be like,
"Not if I bite you in half first."
[ Laughter ]
"I'd like to see you try."
"I'm going to swim to you and bite you with my teeth."
You know, whatever. -Right.
-You know? You know? -The sharks are, like,
historically bad at comebacks, yeah.
[ Laughter ]
-The shark... [ Cheers and applause ]
Sharks... -Yeah.
-Sharks like to write their own material, you know.
-Yeah, they're like, "I want to just find it on the day."
-Yeah, just -- Yeah, improvise their lines.
-Are you afraid of sharks?
-I am -- I am afraid of sharks. -Yeah.
-I am also afraid of salmon. -Okay, right.
-Okay? [ Laughter ]
I'm afraid of anything you're going to find in the water...
-Uh-huh.
-...that might swim somewhat near you.
-Yeah. -So if it's a guppy or a minnow
or a barnacle or a -- or a piece of kelp
that touches my calf, I'm like -- I'm like, "Gaaah!"
[ Laughter ] So I get out of the water.
So am I afraid of sharks? Yes, I am also afraid of sharks.
-Okay, see... -So...
-But, like, that's not -- like, it's gonna be like --
there's just this one thing... -Right.
-...that Rainn's afraid of -- it's not that.
-No, it's anything in the water that touches my body
other than sand and water itself.
-Okay, gotcha. [ Laughter ]
-And -- And a girl in a bikini. Other than that...
-But -- But you -- you think getting eaten by a shark,
if you had to go, would be a cooler way to go.
-It would be an awesome way to go.
I mean, think about it --
like, the guy who played Dwight was eaten by a shark?
It'd be like... [ Laughter ]
[ Cheers and applause ] -Yeah.
-That's badass! -Yeah.
-Am I right? [ Cheers and applause continue ]
'Cause I -- there are so many humiliating ways to die.
I had one of those in my life once.
I borrowed my handyman Pablo's van
to go down to Home Depot once.
It's a true -- absolutely true story.
And it was a 1974 Dodge huge van.
And I was -- I pulled it out in traffic.
And I noticed the seat was too far back,
so I kind of adjusted the bar and slid it up.
And then my -- it slid over my finger
and my finger was stuck.
And I could barely see above the steering wheel.
And I'm in traffic.
And I'm like, "Aaah! Aaah! Aah!" [ Laughter ]
And I'm -- I'm -- And I can't find the brake.
And I'm going down Van Nuys Boulevard like this.
And I -- And I really thought in my head, like,
"I'm going to die.
I'm gonna die with my finger under my anus."
[ Laughter ]
And...they're gonna -- they're gonna see me,
and, like, TMZ is going to take photos of my body,
and this is how I will be found dead, like...
[ Laughter ]
So I would absolutely love to be eaten by a shark.
-Yeah. I hadn't thought of it that way.
But that -- yeah. -Think about it.
-People -- I'd be reading that, being like,
"I would have thought he would have had a newer van."
[ Laughter ]
"The Meg" -- I did not know this.
"The Meg" is short for "Megalodon."
-The megalodon, yes.
-And this is something your son knew.
-Yes, it -- it actually existed like 100 million years ago.
It was the biggest apex predator that planet Earth has ever seen,
next to Jason Statham. -Uh-huh.
[ Laughter ]
And my son was a huge fan of megalodons.
And he -- my mom actually sent him a megalodon tooth.
-Wow.
-I don't know where she found it -- eBay?
I don't know where you get a megalodon tooth, but --
-How big is a megalodon tooth? -It's like this --
it's like this big. -Okay.
-It's like a big -- It's like a big, bony triangle.
-Gotcha. -And it's sharp.
And my son would come home from school.
And he'd have an apple for a snack.
And he'd use it as a knife. [ Laughter ]
And he would -- he'd be cutting up slices of apple
with a -- with a 100 million-year-old tooth.
And that's the crazy life that TV celebrities live.
-Yeah, exactly. -Now it's just weird, you know?
Just weird. -"This is my son.
He cuts his meat with a megalodon tooth."
[ Laughter ]
You play a -- but you actually play an eccentric billionaire --
-Yeah. -...in this film.
And you have -- in real life,
you've crossed paths with billionaires.
-Yeah, it's an odd thing that TV actors --
billionaires love to hang out
with, like, sports figures and, like, TV actors.
-Uh-huh. -And I've been at --
just at different events and award shows and parties.
And there's billion -- chockablock with billionaires.
I'm like, "Oh, there's Elon Musk.
And there's other billionaires and stuff."
And so I really based this guy --
he's -- Jack Morris is -- he's kind of the comic relief
and, also, kind of the villain in the movie.
So it's an interesting kind of combination.
But I took some of those qualities that --
that billionaires have -- that, oftentimes,
billionaires have this kind of like boyish sense of wonder
about the world.
And you'll meet them, and they're --
they're, like, in Air Jordans and, like, a track suit.
And they're like, "Hey, wow. That's cool.
How do these cameras work? Whoa!"
[ Laughter ] You know?
They -- They --
And that kind of curiosity, I think,
makes them who they are. -Yeah.
-But they can also turn real quick
and you see a dark side, you know,
where they -- you know how they got to where they got, you know?
-[ Laughing ] Right, yeah. -So...
-Right, the Air Jordans came later,
but the crazy genius part was first.
-Yes. -Yeah.
-The evil Scrooge capitalist genius
is underneath that boyish wonder.
-Well, it's nice to see that in film,
and it's always wonderful to see you here.
Thank you so much for coming back.