HOLLYWOOD actors Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson are as much of a double act as Starsky and Hutch, the detective partners they play in the big screen version of the 70s TV cop show.

They've worked together before on projects including The Cable Guy (the Jim Carrey film which Stiller directed), Meet The Parents, The Royal Tenenbaums and, playing supermodels, Zoolander. So when Stiller signed to play David Starsky, Wilson seemed a natural choice to play his police buddy Ken Hutchinson.

The pair joke and jibe at each other's expense, although it's clear there's a bond that translates to the screen friendship.

"It's just working with someone that I can rely on, that I think's gonna not just do good stuff, but maybe have good ideas for me too," drawls Wilson in his slow Texan accent.

Stiller always knows what to expect from working with Wilson - "which is a good thing, he always makes me laugh". As a fan of the TV series, Stiller made it known he was interested in playing Starsky after hearing a film was in the pipeline.

That didn't make it any easier following Paul Michael Glaser in the role, and he spent hours watching tapes of the old shows. "It was just trying to figure out a way to play the character because he was so cool. For me, that was the reason I wanted to do the movie because as a kid I was such a fan of his," he explains.

"I watched as many of the episodes as I could and tried to get a feeling for what he was doing. Then I realised quickly I couldn't do, so I just sort of tried to run like him. After that Owen and I tried to develop whatever our own relationship was. I thought that would work. That's why the show worked so well because these two guys were just so great together."

One of Wilson's trickiest scenes was singing one of David Soul's old hits, Don't Give Up On Me Baby. He confesses to being able to neither play the guitar or sing, despite lessons and voice coaches. "The director shot it so you wouldn't see my hands, and then they ran my voice through one of those tuning machines," he says.

He was also nervous about being in the passenger seat of Starsky and Hutch's famous red Torino car when Stiller was behind the wheel.

Stiller loved driving the car. "I'm not really an expert driver, so the stunt drivers took me out to the parking lot and taught me how to do a couple of things. That was fun," he says.

"I got to do some of the stuff in the movie, little simple things. The car's not a really fancy car, just a Gran Torino, but they souped up the engine."

Wilson saw it differently. "Ben's not a very good driver. He doesn't have good reflexes, good eye/hand co-ordination. Ben would say, 'oh, today we're going to do a power slide' or 'today we're going to do a 1-80'. What I came to learn is that what the rest of us call fender benders and accidents, Ben has a technical term for."

The pair shared screen time with the original Starsky and Hutch, Paul Michael Glaser and David Soul, in a scene in the new movie. Stiller had already had lunch with Glaser before filming began. "He is Starsky, just that naturally cool guy. The way he was with the waitress, with the cool, flirtatious thing," he says.

"He's very supportive and said, 'hey, go ahead and do your own thing, have fun' because he know that we both were having to live up to something. "The day of the shoot was definitely strange and a little bit intimidating. It was weird, but fun."

Wilson warned Soul before the LA premiere not to expect too much from his Hutch. "I was very nervous for him to hear me sing. He was very generous. After the movie he gave me a hug. I think he realised I wasn't a threat," he says.

* Starsky And Hutch (15) opens in cinemas tomorrow

Published: ??/??/2003