Matt Bomer was nervous Russell Crowe might really choke him in The Nice Guys scene

Russell Crowe made sure to play nice with Matt Bomer while filming their new ’70s cop comedy.

During a SiriusXM Town Hall with the cast and creators of The Nice Guys, Crowe recalls shooting a violent scene with an anxious Bomer.

“One of the first things that we had to do together was I had to strangle him,” Crowe, 52, tells Entertainment Weekly Radio’s Clark Collis. “And I know from past experiences, sometimes when you work with younger actors and stuff, what their references really are is LA Confidential, Gladiator, stuff like that. They’re scared s—less that it’s going to be for real.”

“Well, I was also like, ‘Is Russell really going to choke me out in this take?'” says Bomer, 38.  “And I was like, ‘I’m cool with that if he is, but maybe that’s gonna happen.'”

We don’t blame him for feeling intimidated: Crowe’s known for kicking some serious butt in action movies. But the Hollywood heavyweight walked Bomer through his moves.

“I showed him how I could apply full weight through my arms and not actually touch him,” he explains. “So he sort of relaxed.”

Until Crowe decided to have some fun moments before director Shane Black cried “action!”

“I’ve got both my hands around Matt’s neck and I’m staring at him, and I just whisper, ‘Hey, Matt, this is for Magic Mike,'” he says, laughing.

Hear the full interview Friday at 2 pm ET on SiriusXM EW Radio (Ch. 105) and anytime after on your SiriusXM app.