It's a lot of work. But, according to Jaime King, who is starring in Bulletproof Monk, it's a lot of fun, too.

"It was great," says King, "six to seven hours a day of gymnastics and kung fu and martial arts with kicks and all kinds of different styles. Then we had rehearsal time on the wires.

"That's one of the reasons I really wanted to do this role. It's so physical, and the idea of acting and doing all the physical stuff really appealed to me. I'm pretty athletic and I feel like it's a cool thing to incorporate something like this into your craft."

Bulletproof Monk, which opens in theaters on Wednesday, is based on the comic book from Flypaper Press that is currently published by Image Comics.

In the film, The Monk (Chow Yun-Fat) is a Zen-calm martial arts master whose duty has been to protect a powerful ancient scroll. Faced with finding the scroll's next guardian, the Monk's quest brings him to New York City where, to his disbelief, it appears his successor is a smart-mouthed pickpocket named Kar (Seann William Scott).

Kar's a charming, street-tough wild card who enjoys his life of no responsibility. As the Monk instructs Kar, the unlikely duo become partners in protecting the scroll from a power-monger who's been chasing it for 60 years.

King's character is Jade, aka Bad Girl, a gang member who develops a relationship with Kar.

"We have a very resistant relationship," King says. "He awakened something in me and I awaken something in him. We both grow up at the same time, and it's this battle of not wanting to really discover or feel the emotions that we're feeling when we're around each other.

"There's definitely chemistry. It's all emotion in our interactions and exchanges."

The relationship plays into the growth arc for both characters.

"I don't know this kid. I don't know where he comes from," King says. "All I know is that there is a connection between us. I'm afraid that people aren't going to love me for who I am, so I run around with this gang pretending to be this bad chic. Then, I meet this kid who all of a sudden I'm falling for and I don't understand why. Then, the Monk awakens Kar to his own enlightenment, and it becomes a triangle where we are all awakening each other."

King says she had good chemistry with Scott, who is best known as Stifler from the American Pie films.

"He's so awesome and fun," she says. "I first met him at the screen test and we got along. Now, we have a really great relationship because we've had all this rehearsal time. It's great to know how you're going to interact and how you work with someone."

King, who has been a spokesmodel for Revlon, has been acting for several years, appearing in such films as Slackers and Pearl Harbor. Bulletproof Monk is her biggest role to date.

"I specifically remember the moment that I read the script and the moment I knew I wanted to do this film," she says. "I was lying in bed and as I was reading it, I could visualize myself in the part. I made the choice. I said, 'I'm going to get this role no matter what. I don't care what I have to do, I'm going to be in this film.'

"I remember telling my agent this, too. I auditioned five times and did a screen test and a physical test. It was really a cool process because I got to work with Paul (Hunter, director) and the casting director and play it in different ways. It made receiving the role so much more incredible for me because I worked so hard to get it."

And she worked so hard throughout, too.

"I'm learning something new everyday," she says. "I've never done so much action and acting at the same time. It's a completely different experience. It's tough, but at the end of the day I feel so fulfilled. We're putting so much energy into it."

Rob Allstetter, Deputy Sports Editor for The Detroit News, has been a comics journalist for the past decade, having written for numerous publications. He currently publishes The Comics Continuum. He can be reached at RobAlls@aol.com.