Ed Skrein may have had his big breakthrough with a brief role on Game of Thrones, but he had already made a mark on British cinema in Ill Manors and The Sweeney. Now he takes the spotlight in The Transporter Refuelled, replacing Jason Statham in the role of no-nonsense driver Frank Martin.

Ed Skrein in 'The Transporter Refuelled'Ed Skrein takes over Jason Statham in 'The Transporter Refuelled'

He's aware of the pressure of rebooting a franchise, but wasn't worried. "It always felt quite natural," he says. "I felt so relaxed even going into the auditions for Transporter. I did what I always do which is prepare intensively, work hard and take it seriously. But I was very comfortable in the shoes of Frank Martin."

More: Ed Skrein is on his way to stardom

Skrein's preparations of course required a lot of physical training. "I worked really hard with the action team," he says, "and I also did a lot of strength and conditioning work to make sure that I had the capacity, stamina-wise, to be able to last the full shoot physically and mentally. It's like anything: the more preparation you put into it, you can actually enjoy the event on the day. So on the shooting days I was like, 'I'm going to enjoy this, man!' There's a helicopter, or there's a jet ski, or I'm about to beat up 11 guys. I could never do this in real life!"

Watch the trailer for 'The Transporter Refuelled' here:



He used this same preparation to get ready for his next project, the Marvel action movie Deadpool, in which he plays a villain opposite Ryan Reynolds. He can't wait to see the finished film, which is due to open in February. "We'll have to wait and see," Skrein says when asked what it's like. "Working with [first-time director] Tim Miller was incredible. He's one of the directors I've most enjoyed working with. I feel like he got the best out of me in a lot of ways, so I'd love to work with him again, whether it's another Deadpool movie or whether it's something else. I'm just such a fan of what Ryan has done with the role, and I'm so proud to have done the one movie. So if this or the Transporter turns into 20 movies, great!"

More: Read our review of 'The Transporter Refuelled'