Idris Elba is ready to kick some ass. Doesn't matter where. Doesn't matter when.
Doesn't matter whose ass he's kicking.
The Hollywood actor is taking his talents into the kickboxing ring for a new television series, Idris Elba: Fighter, which will be produced by Discovery Networks International. Elba has played some badass characters over the years—Stringer Bell from The Wire, Stacker Pentecost from Pacific Rim, Heimdall from the Thor movies—and now he'll hone his physical skills by becoming a real-life badass for this series.
#IdrisElbaFighter coming 2017... pic.twitter.com/Gv8iV8iI5h
— Idris Elba (@idriselba) August 23, 2016
The supremely fit Elba—who previously told Men’s Fitness that he stays in shape with swimming, jogging, and body-weight training—will cap off the three hour-long episode series with the most badass of tests: He'll face off against a pro fighter to see what he learned from the experience.
Idris Elba on Training and Maintaining Weight >>>
“It has been a lifelong ambition of mine to fight professionally,” Elba said in a press release, according to Deadline. “Entering the ring to further test myself as a human being is a challenge I have been looking to take on for quite some time.”
Elba is no stranger to kickboxing—the actor has been doing his own training for years, but only when he isn’t filming. Elba told Men’s Fitness that most film producers think kickboxing is “too dangerous” to do while he’s working, so a few days a week he makes sure to hit the dojo. Now, with his new series, Elba has the chance to combine his hobby and his day job.
The Best MMA Knockout of All Time>>>
The series will jet around the world as the 43-year-old trains in Great Britain, South Africa, Cuba, Japan, and Thailand, learning different methods to kick the crap out of people. Elba has been showing off some of his training on Instagram—and he looks ready to kick some major ass:
Elba has been a busy man lately. He's coming off a villainous (albeit makeup-covered) role as Krall in Star Trek: Beyond alongside Men’s Fitness cover star Chris Pine, he’ll reprise his role as Heimdall in Thor: Ragnarok, and he’s starring in the adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower opposite Matthew McConaughey.
If Elba ever gets that James Bond role that lots of people are hoping for, he’ll be ready to earn 007's suits with some hard-earned kickboxing skills.