Judd Apatow has revealed that he doesn’t consider himself a champion for female filmmakers, he just likes making movies with funny people.

The 47-year-old filmmaker, who is married to comic actress Leslie Mann, directed Trainwreck, starring Amy Schumer, and helped produce Bridesmaids with Kristen Wiig and Lena Dunham’s TV show Girls, which has led people to hold him up as an inspiration for women.

Kristen Wiig and Judd Apatow
Kristen Wiig and Judd Apatow (Chris Pizzello/AP)

“I don’t think that much about it. I just like funny people,” he explained.

“When people thought we were championing women with Bridesmaids, I didn’t think about it in those terms. I’d just worked with Kristen Wiig on Knocked Up and I thought, ‘She’s like the funniest person ever. Should we make a whole movie with just Kristen?’

“When the movie came out and people thought it was symbolic of getting more women to be in movies, I just thought, ‘No. This is just me trying to work with the funniest person that I know right now’. And the same thing with Amy.”

He continued: “I like to work with anybody who’s funny but I’m happy that there are more women who are getting the chance to write and produce and direct.

“The business has been awful about having enough movies for women and so it’s been fun to be a part of changing it. But I only do it because they’re brilliant and it’s fun to collaborate.”

Amy stars alongside Bill Hader in Trainwreck, which also features a guest appearance from basketball star LeBron James.

Judd said of the sportman’s involvement: “He’s really natural. Bill knew him from when he hosted Saturday Night Live and he showed up, and he was killing it right from the start.”

Bill added: “You don’t have to tell him anything. You actually don’t have to say anything to him. He understood the joke in the subtleties and nuances of it better than most comedians would have. And he knew to play it straight and not try to be funny.”

LeBron James
LeBron James (Chris Pizzello/Invision)

Judd explained: “It was weird that he understood the joke. The joke was, wouldn’t it be weird if your best friend was LeBron James? But he understood it and he’s LeBron James.”

Trainwreck is in cinemas now.