Alias star Jennifer Garner has admitted that she is still surprised to be playing an action hero in her new film, Elektra.

Speaking about the physical aspects of shooting the film, she told iesb.net, "We shot all the big finale stuff. It continued to be rough and tumble and really fun.

"They were the toughest fights I’ve ever done. I fought five guys with a bo stick, five ninjas. That was pretty intense. And I had a fight with my sais against two kitanas. I kept getting bonked and there was some bloodshed there. That was pretty intense as well.

"If you’d ever told me that I would be shooting a fight scene, and that I would be like, 'Yeah, you know, I need to go shoulder to shoulder...' if you’d ever told me that I would know what that was about ever at all, I wouldn’t have believed you."

Elektra is due for release next year.