Barrymore: 'Roller derby is scary'

Drew Barrymore has admitted that she had no idea how brutal the sport of roller derby could be.

The 34-year-old actress, who stars and makes her directorial debut in the new movie Whip It!, has insisted that the roller skating contact sport is "scary as s**t".

Barrymore told Time Out New York magazine: "What I love about the sport is that it's real and high stakes. And by the way, it's scary as s**t to do. I wouldn't have guessed that the first film I directed would have a sports element, but then again it doesn't surprise me, because I love girls getting to do what boys do.

"I love when women get to be women and not feel like they have to become a man in order to play in a man's world."

Barrymore has also said that as a director she was adamant on being involved in the entire creative process.

She added: "Well, I've always found that I tend to rebel against authority. I wanted to throw myself in there so I could really go through what the girls were going through. I didn't want to be that guy who said, 'Just get in there'. I hate that - I hate dictatorship, I hate hierarchy, I hate sidelines."