I didn't want to be a size zero woman taking down 300 men

VIOLA Davis is redefining what an action hero looks like. In the South Carolina actor's new blockbuster movie, G20, the almost 60-year-old is doing hand-to-hand combat, dodging bullets and taking out armed mercenaries - in a ballgown.

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“I didn't want to be a size zero woman taking down 300 men,” says Viola, who turns 60 in August. “No one would believe that.”

Viola has been bulking up, working with personal trainer Gabriela Mclain and stunt coordinator Grant Powell, the people who helped her get in shape for the Bafta nominated The Woman King.

“We built muscle,” says Viola, meaning she spent a lot of time doing squats, deadlifts and core work in preparation - all vital if your character is a feisty female commander in chief fighting for her own life, as well as her family's and the rest of the world's most important leaders.

Directed by Patricia Riggen, G20 is a rollicking action-adventure that sees a global summit hijacked by a team of hired guns led by volatile leader Rutledge (Antony Starr), who plans to hold world statesmen hostage for nefarious reasons.

Academy Award winner Viola plays former combat veteran U.S. President Danielle Sutton, who has brought husband Derek (Anthony Anderson), son Demetrius (Christopher Farrar) and daughter Serena (Marsai Martin) along to the summit in Cape Town, South Africa, largely to keep an eye on the wayward Serena, who is particularly talented at giving the Secret Service the slip.