Jesse Eisenberg shuffles rather than swaggers into the room.

Pale, slim and boasting a mop of dark brown curls, the 27-year-old actor whose turn as Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg was nominated for an Oscar this year, looks a lot like his on-screen persona.

Proceeding to answer questions to the floor in a nervy rat-a-tat-tat fashion, he continues to remind you of that smart, shy guy at school, whose geekiness is somehow appealing.

And it’s this endearing demeanour that has translated so well on the big screen, in films such as Greg Mottola’s Adventureland and Ruben Fleischer’s Zombieland.

In his latest movie, he’s reunited with Fleischer again, in comedy action 30 Minutes Or Less, which sees Eisenberg and stand-up comedian Aziz Ansari playing former best friends.

However, they’re forced to put aside their epic falling out when Eisenberg’s character, Nick, ends up with a bomb attached to his chest and is forced to rob a bank.

“Nick is a pizza delivery guy who dropped out of college a few years back and now feels a bit stuck. It takes a bomb strapped on his body to light a fire under him, so to speak,” explains Eisenberg.

Despite its dangerous premise, the movie manages to be laugh-out-loud funny, he says, with the comedy propelled by the incredible fear you’d have if you were in the same situation.

Many of the laughs derive from the humdrum way the boys tackle this life or death scenario. These aren’t your usual action heroes, just two lads who find themselves in an extraordinary situation.

“As we were thinking about it, the little things that came out were absurd – like searching on the internet as you tried to find a way out of the mess,” he says.

“It’s so specific that it’s comedic, but it’s also real at the same time.”

While the movie has a clever premise, what really sets it apart are the characters, adds the actor.

“That’s the most relevant thing to me when I look for a project. The concept is less important.”

And given what his character endures, it’s no surprise to hear Eisenberg say he found filming full-on: “My character is dealing with this intense thing, so for the most part, I was very stressed out because that’s what he’s going through,” he says.

Having made a career out of playing bumbling, rather neurotic blokes, Eisenberg isn’t afraid to admit he’s not especially savvy when it comes to social skills.