The hip-hop star has been playing technology expert Tej in the franchise since he was cast in 2003's 2 Fast 2 Furious and although he has been able to speed around in fast cars, Ludacris admits he has been yearning to engage in a fight scene, just like his co-stars Vin Diesel and Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson.

His requests have repeatedly been shunned by producers, so Ludacris decided to start training in the African-American martial art of 52 Blocks - and his efforts paid off after Diesel advised him to put together a "demo reel".

He explains, "It was a long time coming because every single (Fast and Furious) film that I've been in, I keep going to the director and being like, 'Can I kick a little a** in this movie?' and they're like, 'Nah, you can't kick a**.' Next one, 'Can I kick a little a** in this movie?'. 'Nah, you can't kick a**.'

"So this one, finally, Fast 7 (sic), I said, 'I'm not taking this anymore!' So I went to Vin Diesel first and foremost and said, 'Look man, the director keeps telling me I can't kick any a** in this movie...! I've been practising this martial art... called 52 Blocks.'

"It looks totally different so I'm extremely conscious that I'm gonna be doing something that looks totally like nothing you've ever seen."

He continues, "I put a 30-second clip together of myself fighting. I put my music to it...! So I go and I show it to Vin Diesel, I show it to the producer, I show it to the director, and all of them were like, 'You know what? You can kick a little a** in this movie...!' I had to fight for my fight scene!"