Jason Bateman enjoyed playing against type as a villain in his new movie 'Carry-On'.

In the Netflix film, Jason, 55, plays a mysterious stranger who attempts to blackmail a TSA agent into allowing a dangerous package on a Christmas flight and he enjoyed having the chance to portray a complicated character.

He told The Hollywood Reporter: "I'm not some hardened criminal-looking kind of guy, so I'm glad they didn't want me to play him like that. They let me do it as just a guy and this is just his job. He wants to blow this plane up, move on to the next thing, and get home for the holidays too."

Co-star Taron Egerton, who plays the TSA agent, believes Jason's role is more menacing because the beloved comedic actor is playing against type.

He explained: "It's unusual because he presents as someone quite safe but actually underneath it, he's awful. Knowing Jason for all his film work and 'Arrested Development' and 'Ozark', it's surreal to be working with him."

Sofia Carson stars as a fellow airport worker, who is also the girlfriend of Egerton's character, and loved that her character was not "a damsel in distress".

She said: "I was so happy to be offered the role of a woman in an action movie that was never once a damsel in distress. I was proud to bring that to life, and to do so with Jason Bateman, Taron Egerton and Danielle Deadwyler, and to be produced by Mr. Steven Spielberg -- that was a dream."

And, Taron hopes it will become a cult Christmas classic like 'Die Hard'.

He said: "This film made me feel very Christmassy -- that's what I would love for it to do. 'Die Hard' is a Christmas movie. This is a Christmas movie. I hope audiences love it."