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Jude Law ‘more Johnny English than 007’

Actor Jude Law has joked that he would make a better Johnny English than James Bond, following his stint as a secret agent in Spy.

The 42-year-old may be on form as CIA agent Bradley Fine, but current 007 star Daniel Craig has nothing to fear, Law said at the European premiere of Spy in London.

“I’ll probably be the next Johnny English,” he said, referring to Rowan Atkinson’s bumbling spy.

Asked if he would like to play Bond, he replied: “I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve got it in me.

“I don’t think Daniel is going away anytime soon. He’s clinging on to that.”

There were plenty of laughs on the red carpet as the cast of Paul Feig’s action comedy, including Melissa McCarthy, Jason Statham, Miranda Hart, Allison Janney and Peter Serafinowicz reunited at Odeon Leicester Square in London’s West End.

Bollywood actress Nargis Fakhri, 35, wowed in a plunging red dress by Indian designer Monisha Jaising.

Funnywoman McCarthy, 44, plays desk-based CIA analyst Susan Cooper, who volunteers to go undercover to infiltrate the world of a dangerous arms dealer and save the world.

“I love the spy genre and I’m a big fan of that type of movie,“ she said.

“When Paul and I first spoke about it, we said if Susan stays smart and the action scenes stay dangerous, we’ll get something special. I think we did it.”

Melissa McCarthy and Jude Law play CIA partners in Spy. Picture: Larry Horricks

The actress, who wore an animal-print dress from her own clothing range, threw herself into the action scenes, which include fighting with weapons, riding a scooter around Rome and more.

She said she was keen for a sequel, adding: “The action scenes were sore and tiring but really fun. I would love to do it again, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Action star Jason Statham, 47, who plays agent Rick Ford, said it was “very easy” flexing his comedic muscle with colleagues such as Feig and McCarthy.

Spy marks the third collaboration between McCarthy and Feig following Bridesmaids and The Heat. The pair are to reunite for an all-female reboot of Ghostbusters.

“People seem to be liking it. I don’t want to jinx it so I feel like they like everything we’ve done,” Feig said of their partnership.

The film’s writer and director revealed that Spy came from his dream of directing a Bond movie.

“I always wanted to make a James Bond film and realised no-one would ever hire me to do that so I thought it was time to write my own for a woman and make it a real spy movie, not just a spoof,“ the film-maker said.