It's Pine vs. Hardy in This Means War

MANILA, Philippines - Chris Pine and Tom Hardy portray the world’s deadliest CIA operatives who are also inseparable partners and best friends… until they fall for the same woman (Reese Witherspoon) in This Means War. Having once helped bring down entire enemy nations, they are now employing their incomparable skills and an endless array of high-tech gadgetry against their greatest nemesis ever — each other. 

James, better known as Tuck (Hardy), is ruggedly good-looking and dangerous, but not nearly as skilled at romantic matters compared to his best friend and partner Franklin Delano Roosevelt Foster, better known as FDR (Pine). Together, their unrivaled flair, formidable covert abilities, and good looks, make them the best of the best among CIA agents. But FDR and Tuck’s longstanding personal and professional bond is put to the test when they unwittingly begin dating the same woman. 

That woman is Lauren Scott (Witherspoon), a senior product evaluator for a leading consumer advocate publication. She has a far-reaching knowledge of products ranging from ovens to smartphones, and is a skilled leader at her workplace. What Lauren is not good at is meeting men, until her best pal Trish (Chelsea Handler) takes matters into her own hands and signs Lauren to an on-line dating service — which Tuck had recently, and reluctantly, joined.  

The filmmakers’ long search to cast the role of Tuck ended when they saw Hardy’s performance in the box-office hit Inception. “Tom had everything we wanted,” recalls the movie’s producer-writer Kinberg. “His sense of humor had a much different tone than Chris’. Tom has an aura of danger, which we really wanted for Tuck. He was very physical, conveyed the character’s complexities, and was perfect for the role.”

The “spy against spy” storyline is integral to the film’s humor and action. At the same time, director McG wanted these bigger than life situations to be relatable. “We wanted to present that in a way that felt very credible,” says the Charlie’s Angels and Terminator: Salvation helmer.  “And I liked taking advantage of Tuck’s and FDR’s ‘Alpha’ characteristics. And that is a great engine for a movie.”

Says Witherspoon, “It’s every woman’s fantasy to have two unbelievably hot, sexy guys battling over you. Lauren doesn’t know that Tuck and FDR are secret agents for the CIA. This Means War is almost like two different movies. My character’s in a comedy and Chris’ and Tom’s are in a big action film.”

This Means War is now showing in theaters nationwide.