Idris Elba wants to get punched in the face

In Idris Elba: Fighter, the actor is training to become an actual kickboxer and would eventually take on an opponent in the ring. Photos: Discovery

Actor Idris Elba has a knack for playing daunting characters on screen.

He’s Russell “Stringer” Bell, the no-nonsense drug kingpin in the critically-acclaimed HBO crime drama The Wire, and the taciturn Detective John Luther in the BBC series Luther.