EXCLUSIVE: Chris O'Dowd Says 'The Sapphires' Actresses Are 'Crazy B*tches'

Irish actor Chris O'Dowd is used to being the only man in the room. O'Dowd, best known for his role as Kristen Wiig's love interest in last year's estrogen-heavy Bridesmaids, grew up with three sisters, so when he took the role in the new movie musical The Sapphires, about an all-female quartet who entertain U.S. troops stationed in Vietnam in 1968, he felt right at home.

"Those b*tches is crazy," O'Dowd said, playfully, of co-stars Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Shari Sebbens and Miranda Tapsell. "I find it very heartwarming because I kind of grew up in a huddle of women. Three sisters and my mum, so it felt actually very easy. It felt comfortable," he added in our exclusive interview.

The Sapphires, which premiered at the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival last month, won't hit theaters in the U.S. until August, but even those of us who haven't seen the film can attest that O'Dowd blends in naturally with a roomful of ladies. In addition to Bridesmaids and The Sapphires, O'Dowd recently appeared on an episode of HBO's Girls, in which he played an apparently non-aggressive dude who makes patient advances toward two Brooklyn hipster-ettes, played by Allison Williams and Jemima Kirke.

And then there's the live video of him performing "Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch" that sufaced at Cannes — proving he's got musical chops. But don't expect O'Dowd to brag too heavily. "I came from a musical home where there's always a guitar and a couple of instruments kicking around, and my uncle was a musician, so it was always a late night thing," he explained. "I love the music of the film and the story, so I I learned how to play the piano a bit for the film and things like that. We were joking about it earlier on — the great thing about soul music, and I kind of talk about it a little bit in the film, it's not necessarily about being perfect. It's about what's behind it. And I felt like I could at least sell it."

Consider it sold.

Watch the trailer for The Sapphires here: