Action star Bruce Willis compares his new time travel flick Looper - which kicks off this year's Toronto International Film Festival - to a magic trick.
Willis and co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt portray the same person in the movie, about hitmen who kill thugs sent back in time.
Gordon-Levitt's character is tasked with offing the future version of himself (played by Willis) - but panics when the moment arrives.
To convincingly play a younger incarnation of Willis, Gordon-Levitt donned heavy layers of special-effects makeup.
He also studied Willis's past films and listened to hours of tape to learn how to mimic the Die Hard actor's voice.
"Sci-fi films are like magic tricks," Willis told reporters at a festival news conference Thursday, adding that he approved of Gordon-Levitt's impersonation. "At some point you have to let go of it and just believe you're in the story. I was so surprised the magic trick we were trying to do works."
He wasn't the only one who gave Gordon-Levitt's performance the thumbs up.
Looper co-star Emily Blunt - who plays a mother who reluctantly takes in Gordon-Levitt's character - was wowed by the dedication of the Premium Rush actor.
"He was very much in the makeup - and I mean that in the sense that he was that guy during the day," she said during an interview.
"He really embodied Bruce, he really managed to find his sort of essence without it being a cheap impersonation and I think that's a real gift."
This is the second year in a row Gordon-Levitt has appeared at the festival; he received kudos last year for his turn in the cancer comedy "50/50."
Willis, meanwhile, also praised Looper director-Rian Johnson (The Brothers Bloom) for conjuring up a futuristic world yet still creating believable relationships between characters.
"There are reminders the whole way that we're in a different time situation but it's a real emotional film," said Willis.
The stars of Looper were set to walk the red carpet Thursday night and the film is due to open in theatres Sept. 28.
The Toronto International Film Festival runs until Sept. 16.
