Firth goes from suave guy to super spy

The veteran actor says his favorite Chinese actor is Jackie Chan.

"Of course I would love to cooperate with Jackie Chan," Firth says, adding that Chan impressed him by sending an autographed photo to his son.

Firth has not yet had a chance to co-star with the Chinese kung fu star, but he underwent a tough six-month training regime in order to become a real action hero.

A professional team of 10 experts, from a six-time Muay Thai world champion to a special operations official, helped train the 54-year-old in his backyard for an average of three hours every day.

"It was not a comfortable experience. The beginning was a nightmare of intimidation and a sense of inadequacy," he says, according to NBC's Today. "By the end of six months, if you persist, something is going to change ... I started to think: 'I've wasted the last 30 years writing off athleticism'."

Firth says that Vaughn was the main reason he accepted the role. The director convinced him that the role would be a career breakthrough because Firth is the "last person" moviegoers would imagine kicking a bunch of villains.

Kingsman, a modern spy tale of the recruitment and training of a potential secret agent, was released on Feb 13 in North America and has earned been received positively by critics.

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