Idris Elba Will Train to Become a (Real) Pro Kickboxer on Discovery's 'Fighter'

In case you were on the fence about just how big a badass Idris Elba really is, the actor has entered training to become a pro kickboxer. Fortunately, fans can follow the whole thing unfold via Discovery reality show, “Fighter.”

The limited series of three one-hour episodes was announced Tuesday morning at the Edinburgh Television Festival.

Elba, the star of “Star Trek Beyond” and the hit TV series “Luther,” will shoot the series over the course of one year on location in Britain, Cuba, Japan, South Africa and Thailand. Discovery Networks International channels plans to broadcast it across more than 220 countries and territories — including the United States and United Kingdom — in early 2017.

Elba, who will be mentored along the way by former world champions, trainers, and coaches, used to kickbox back in his 20s to stay fit, but the actor never fought professionally — until now.

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“It has been a lifelong ambition of mine to fight professionally,” Elba said. “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.”

“This raw yet intimate series will show a side of Idris that viewers and fans won’t get from his spectacular film work,” Marjorie Kaplan, president of Content, Discovery Networks International, added. “From East London to the Far East and the Caribbean, he’ll explore strength, stamina and spirituality through a range of martial arts and their fascinating histories. We’re absolutely thrilled that Idris has chosen Discovery to tell his story and journey in the right way.”

“Idris Elba: Fighter” is produced for Discovery Networks International by Shine North and Elba’s Green Door Pictures. Ed Sayer is commissioner and Victoria Noble is executive producer for Discovery Networks International. Rick Murray is executive producer for Shine North. Kaplan is president of content for Discovery Networks International.

25 Movie Stars Who Were Completely Transformed by Makeup or CGI for a Role (Photos)

You'd be forgiven for not realizing that the villain in "X-Men: Apocalypse" is played by none other than Oscar Isaac, given all the blue makeup that is caked on his face. But he's not the first, nor will he be the last, star to be completely transformed on the big screen, which traditionally came via makeup but is increasingly created by state-of-the-art performance-capture technology.
Oscar Isaac is the big bad Apocalypse in "X-Men: Apocalypse," uglifying him in a way we never thought possible.

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Despite that stellar makeup job, Idris Elba is at least still recognizable in "Star Trek Beyond" thanks to his incredibly distinctive voice.
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Remember that little orange lady from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"? Yep, that's Oscar winner Lupita Nyong'o in there.

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"Avatar" was technologically shocking in a lot of ways, not the least of which was Zoe Saldana's performance as Neytiri.

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Eddie Murphy has done a lot of transformative roles, including in "The Nutty Professor" and the infamous "Norbit," which was thought to cost him an Oscar for "Dreamgirls."
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In Tim Burton's 2001 remake of "Planet of the Apes," there were a bunch of well known actors secreted away under ape makeup, including Tim Roth (pictured), Helena Bonham Carter and Michael Clarke Duncan.
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John Leguizamo embodied one of the most terrifying looking movie clowns ever in "Spawn."
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Charlize Theron took on the role of Aileen Wuornos in "Monster" with both an actual transformation of her body as well as stellar makeup work to top it off. Theron won the Best Actress Oscar for the performance.
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A lot of folks watched "Tropic Thunder" without ever realizing Tom Cruise was in it, even while his character, the devious film agent Les Grossman, stole the show.
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Tim Curry plays the evil Lord of Darkness in the Ridley Scott fantasy "Legend" and, well, you can see from the picture exactly how traumatic that was for everyone who watched it. In a good way, of course.
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Gary Oldman appeared in the film "Hannibal" as the horribly mutilated Mason Verger, and we were none the wiser.
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Maybe the most shocking transformation on this list, actress Glenn Close popped up briefly in Steven Spielberg's "Hook" as a bearded male pirate.
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Of course this list had to include John Hurt starring in David Lynch's 1980 film "The Elephant Man," about the famously deformed 19th century Englishman. The Academy Awards created the "Makeup and Hairstyling" award in 1981 because of this movie.
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Unlike the other folks on this list, Andy Serkis is really best known for his motion capture performances. Gollum in the "Lord of the Rings" films was the big one, but he's been remarkable beneath a CGI overlay a number of other times, including "King Kong" and the two most recent "Planet of the Apes" films. Oh, and let's not forget his appearance as Supreme Leader Snoke in "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
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The legacy of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels probably lies entirely with Bill Nighy's incredible Davy Jones at this point.
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June's "Warcraft" movie has a lot of people playing big green orcs with tusks, including Clancy Brown as Blackhand (pictured).
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Johnny Depp's goofy prosthetic nose pops up right in the middle of Kevin Smith's "Tusk" and now it's all anyone remembers about that movie.
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"Sin City" is best remembered for its wild style of CGI, but it also contained some excellent makeup on star Mickey Rourke.
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The emotionless blue visage of Dr. Manhattan in "Watchmen" had a real face underneath: Billy Crudup's, in fact.
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"I, Robot" contained a lot of identical looking CGI robots, but one of them, Sonny, was powered by none other than Alan Tudyk.
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Usually, performance capture is something we see in big budget, serious movies, but Seth Rogen as the titular stoner alien in the R-rated comedy "Paul" is a rare exception.

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Yes, Smaug the dragon in those "Hobbit" movies was a performance capture role, with Benedict Cumberbatch actually acting as the dragon.
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"John Carter" has been mostly forgotten for everything it did aside from being a huge box office flop, but, hey, it's important to remember that time Willem Dafoe played a CGI Martian.
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This summer sees several name actors disappearing into their character thanks to movie magic, including Oscar Isaac and Idris Elba

You'd be forgiven for not realizing that the villain in "X-Men: Apocalypse" is played by none other than Oscar Isaac, given all the blue makeup that is caked on his face. But he's not the first, nor will he be the last, star to be completely transformed on the big screen, which traditionally came via makeup but is increasingly created by state-of-the-art performance-capture technology.

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25 Movie Stars Who Were Completely Transformed by Makeup or CGI for a Role (Photos)

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