Nick Nolte: 'Warriors taught me to appreciate martial arts'

Nick Nolte has credited his participation in the forthcoming boxing drama Warriors with allowing him to appreciate the "art" of fighting.

The actor, who was introduced to several Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) athletes in preparation for the role, revealed that he was initially skeptical about taking part in the Gavin O'Connor-directed project as he is not a fan of gratuitous violence.

Nolte recalled in an interview with WENN: "I told Gavin I loved the screenplay but I was concerned about the fighting because I hadn't watched much of it. I'm not particularly fond of violence.

"I'm 70 years old and I'm less angry! I don't watch much boxing anymore. He said, 'When you see it and get to know the guys behind it, you'll see it's not what it looks like.' Then it was a slow process of meeting those guys and watching them, meeting their parents and their girlfriends."

Nolte added: "Now I will watch mixed martial arts. It is very much an art, this type of fighting."

The star recently appeared in Arthur starring Russell Brand, and can currently be seen in the Kevin James comedy Zookeeper.

Warriors is released on September 9 in the US and September 23 in the UK.

Watch a trailer for Warriors below: