'The stuff Angelina Jolie can do physically is remarkable,' says Salt star Liev Schreiber

Salt star Liev Schreiber was amazed how well the lanky Angelina Jolie handled her
intense action scenes in the spy thriller. (Photos: John Shearer/Getty Images, Sony Pictures)

Liev Schreiber says Angelina Jolie was a tough target in the spy thriller Salt because she's a really fast runner.

'SHE'S A SPRINTER'

“She’s very fast, arms pumping, she’s got sprinter run,” Schreiber, 42, tells Canada's Star daily.

In Salt, Angelina, 35, plays a CIA agent accused of being a Russian sleeper spy. In order to prove her innocence, Jolie's character, Evelyn Salt, goes on the lam.

Liev's job was to catch and arrest Angelina, but says he couldn't keep up with her in the foot-chase scenes because she's a sprinter underneath her frail frame.

She “very, very” tough to chase, says Schreiber.

“There’s an awful lot of running," he recalls. "I didn’t expect it to be a very physical role for me, so I didn’t train much. Of course, I show up for the first week of shooting and I’m chasing her all through the (National) Mall in a suit and dress shoes. I never really realized how difficult that was. I suppose that to sprint for a hundred meters or so once in a suit it’s fine, but if you had to do it a 100 times, it gets tough.”

JOLIE FOLLOWED A HIGH-CARB DIET & DID FIGHT TRAINING

For those who have seen the film, the action and stunt scenes are loud and intense, with lots of running, jumping and fighting sequences that would test the stamina of an athlete.

But the super-skinny Angelina trained and followed a high-carb diet to prevent weight loss while keeping up her strength during the physically exhausting shoot, says her stunt instructor, Simon Crane.

"Angelina had to have 70% carbohydrates and 30% protein diet with an anaerobic training regime (as opposed to aerobic), so she can put muscle on without losing weight," he say.

Jolie, who previously took up karate and weight-lifting when she played Lara Croft in the 2001 and 2003 blockbusters, also underwent training for Salt. "For her fight training, we got her learning a combination of Muay Thai and Krav Magha very early on," says Crane. "We would then pick the moves she was best at and combine them into a sequence."

Meanwhile, co-star Schreiber is no stranger to physical roles himself, having played Victor Creed, a.k.a. Sabretooth in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), Jewish resistance fighter Zus Bielski in Defiance (2008) and a war hero in The Manchurian Candidate (2004).

'THE STUFF ANGIE CAN DO PHYSICALLY IS REMARKABLE'

While Liev has no problem taking on mentally and physically challenging action roles, meeting Angelina made him nervous.

"I was very intimidated and kind of nervous [when we first met]," he recalls. "I get uncomfortable around famous people and beautiful women, and she was kind of a double threat. This was a big double-whammy for me and initially really uncomfortable."

But Schreiber immediately bonded with Angelina while discussing their kids.

"All the anxiety about her being very famous and a super-human celebrity kind of went away and I found this very nice, easy person that I could relate to," he recalls.

Liev was also impressed that Jolie could do such physically tough action scenes despite her fragile-looking frame.

"I think that’s one of the guilty pleasures of being a guy: watching beautiful women pull off these action things," he says. "The stuff that Angie can do, physically, is remarkable.”

The strapping 6'3" Schreiber notes: “She’s a lot shorter than I thought she would be [Jolie is 5'8"], but I was pleased by that. I’m happy there was a flaw."

He adds: "Having said that, I think Angelina is pretty talented and a remarkable human being, and a great mom. She’s definitely not like any other lady I know.”

Salt is in theaters now.

See more on Angelina Jolie:

• Angelina Jolie rocks Tokyo Salt premiere in stunning thigh-high dress (photos)
• Angelina Jolie: Staying healthy and aging gracefully is really important to me
• Super-skinny Angelina Jolie ate a high-carb, low-protein diet for Salt, says trainer
• Salt director Phillip Noyce: 'Angelina Jolie trains so hard for stunt scenes'
• Angelina Jolie: How I avoided the pitfalls of fame and fortune
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• Angelina Jolie: I turned down part of James Bond girl before Salt (new trailer)
  
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