Idris Elba would like to star in a film like 'Rocky'.

Idris Elba

Idris Elba

The 44-year-old actor and DJ - who spent a year training to become a professional K1 kickboxer for the documentary 'Fighter' - is now eyeing up more fighting film roles and has set his sights on following in the footsteps of Sylvester Stallone and his iconic character Rocky Balboa.

Asked whether he'd like a role in 'Rocky' in an interview with the Metro newspaper, he said: "Sort of! My agent has been fielding boxing scripts left, right and centre. They're not imaginative enough, though.

"Maybe one day I'll do a fight film but what would be the story? Comeback king of the year? I don't know. I feel like I have more of a foundation in the art of fighting now for roles that require action-led fighting."

The Rocky franchise has seen seven films made since the first in 1976, with the latest instalment being 'Creed II', which is expected to be released in 2017.

Meanwhile, Elba admitted his kickboxer training was "one of the toughest things" he's done but branded being a father of two to daughter Isan, 12 and son Winston, aged two, whom he has with ex-wife Hanne 'Kim' Norgaard, as a "labour of love".

Speaking about his kickboxer training, he explained: "It's a slightly different mindset when I'm acting, Mandela was ridiculously tough but [African war drama] 'Beasts of No Nation' was harrowing.

"I came out of the film mentally scared because of how disgusting my character was. I'd rather train and fight than do that again. But nothing compares to being a dad - that's a labour of love and a different sought of toughness."

Elba had always wanted to have a go at professional kickboxing since he first experienced the sport when he was 25-years-old.

He added: "It was a little dangerous for my acting career, though, because I obviously use my face to act! ...

"Some people buy Ferraris or a motorbike, I wanted to test whether my body could withstand extreme training ... I'd do a lot of runs, pad work, bag work, core work and then the last stage was ring craft and what my fight was going to be like.

"A lot of the time I was training I was making two films ['Thor: Ragnarok' and 'The Dark Tower'] which was pretty brutal."

Idris Elba: Fighter is out now on DVD and digital download.

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