ISLA Fisher called it chasey.
Jon Hamm called it tag.
Fisher was raised in Perth and Hamm in Missouri, but despite the Hollywood stars growing up more than 17,000km apart, pursuing their friends around playgrounds and their neighbourhoods was a staple of their young lives.
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READ NOW42-year-old Fisher, the red-haired Australian actress, and 47-year-old Hamm, best known for his Emmy-winning role in the TV drama series Mad Men, retreated back to their childhood memories for their new comedy film, Tag.
“We actually played chasey which was the Australian equivalent of America’s tag,” Fisher said.
“A bit later we did kiss chasey.
“You chase the boys and try to kiss them, but the only time I successfully kissed anyone they had a helmet on and I knocked my teeth on his helmet.”
Tag is based on the true story of a group of American men who began playing a game of chasey or tag 28 years ago at their Spokane, Washington high school.
The game never ended.
Today they are aged in their 40s, most are married with children, they live in different parts of the US and have jobs ranging from a Catholic priest to a chief marketing officer at the upmarket US department store Nordstrom.
They credit the game for keeping their friendships strong for almost three decades.
The fun, private game among friends became a national story when the Wall Street Journal wrote about it in 2013.
Hollywood immediately saw the potential for a film and went into a frenzy to acquire the rights, with producer Todd Garner the eventual victor.
Fisher and Hamm, just like the men who the Tag film is based on, remained good friends with the kids they grew up with back in their school days.
“My best friend Angie, we went to ballet class and primary school together,” Fisher said.
Fisher and Angie were known as Whippy and White Fang around their Perth primary school playground.
Angie scored her nickname because of an odd tooth that grew high on her gum around the same time as the 1991 US adventure film White Fang was released.
“All of the boys just called her Fang, White Fang and Fanger,” Fisher said.
“My nickname was Whippet, which became Whippy because I couldn’t gain weight.
“No matter how much I ate I always was just so skinny.”
Tag’s cast also includes Oscar nominee Jeremy Renner, Ed Helms, Jake Johnson and Hannibal Buress.
Tag releases in Australia on June 14.
– AAP
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