Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson Are Dying to Work with….Maggie Smith?

Maggie Smith needs to look no farther for her next leading man — or men, rather.

Turns out The Hitman’s Bodyguard costars Ryan Reynolds, 40, and Samuel L. Jackson, 68, are both huge fans of Downton Abbey‘s family matriarch.

“I still want to do a scene with Maggie Smith,” Jackson tells PEOPLE when asked which actor he would like to work with. “Maggie’s one of my favorite people. We hang out or go to dinner.”

Reynolds says he too loves watching the Dowager Countess in action.

“I love that Maggie’s face can turn one word into a 68-syllable thing: ‘I wouldn’t do it in-ten-shon-all-lee.’ I watch her in Downton, and I’m like, ‘Wow!’ ”

For more on Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE on newsstands now.

The two actors are also big fans of another leading lady — their Hitman’s Bodyguard costar Salma Hayek.

Reynolds and his wife Blake Lively recently had the actress, 50, over for dinner where she impressed them with her ability to help cook while entertaining their 10-month-old daughter, Inez.

Meanwhile, Jackson who plays Hayek’s husband in the film, says he wishes he had had more scenes with her and admired the way she jumped right into the challenging fight scenes.

“She was so funny, because she was standing there watching the stunt woman show her what the scene was supposed to be and then she said, ‘I can do this,’ ” recalls Jackson. “And she just did it! She said, ‘I don’t need the stunt woman.’ ”

The Hitman’s Bodyguard opens in theaters August 18.