Scott Ryan is the writer, director and scarily magnetic star of new Australian hitman flick, The Magician, which is out on May 5. I interviewed him with some trepidation.

He is, after all, almost entirely responsible for the creation of Ray Shoesmith, the eponymous antihero of this fake documentary, who specialises in making people disappear' for his clients.

In the flesh, Ryan is thankfully charming and relaxed, though with the conviction of a man who spent two years of his life creating an ultra-low budget movie that no-one might ever have seen.

Only the lucky intervention of stuntman and producer Nash Edgerton, who saw a 30 minute cut of The Magician at a short film festival, led to the film receiving a re-edit and a commercial release.

"The original cut was a little funnier. The version you see now is a bit darker than the original, and more of a road movie," says Ryan, who is at the Odeon in Manchester to promote his film's British release.

"There were more shots of the road and that kind of thing. They're actually travelling a bit more."

Despite seriously grim subject matter, and surprisingly naturalistic performances from the non-professional cast and crew, The Magician is very funny.

Ryan is happy to mention Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino and legendary stand-up Bill Hicks as comedy heroes and influences.

But in a film about hitmen, portrayal death is inevitable.

"There's not a lot of violence in it. But when the violence comes it's very realistic.

"Not Hollywood violence, where people get shot and there are big splodges of blood," explains the 37-year-old.

"It's not like that. It's like it would be in real life."

Ryan later jokes that he was disappointed when the film only received a 15 certificate from the BBFC.

But while the murders are convincing, it's Ryan's performance that has attracted the most attention.

He improvised most of the dialogue, and brings Ray to life as a terrifying, mundane and likeable individual.

"After the film was made, I met a guy called Chopper Read in Australia, who's the most famous criminal there after Ned Kelly, and just had a little chat with him," says Ryan, who speaks as if meeting a self-proclaimed mass-murderer was the most natural thing in the world.

"He thought the performance was spot-on. And then I heard from a friend of mine who knew a guy who was a contract killer and he said it was spot on, too."

Have people started treating you differently, more warily, since seeing you in The Magician?

"Some people get really nervous. But you want people to believe you are that person, so it is really flattering!" he says.

Though friendly and cheerful, Ryan's conversational style is, like his on-screen anti-hero, rather laconic.

At just 85 minutes, was The Magician intended to be so short?

"That's just how it happened," says Ryan. "It is low budget! I'm not the sort of person who will ever make a really long film.

"Everybody has got their own rhythms and stuff, and mine are just 90 minutes or so.

"That's the amount of time I actually need to tell the stories."

Conversation finally turns to Ryan's next project: a zombie road movie called Who Cares Who Wins.

"Ed is this ex-SAS guy who is depressed, working as a security guard in a mall.

"All of a sudden zombies take over and he's got to deal with it," enthuses Ryan, who gesticulates and clicks over his last few words to underline the point: Ed won't be dealing with the undead menace in therapy!