Finn Jones' 'Iron Fist' Training Includes Martial Arts and Buddhism

Weeks after Marvel announced that Game of Thrones alum, Finn Jones, will be playing Danny Rand in Netflix's upcoming Iron Fist, the actor has revealed he's already begun to work out to play the superhero! Ahead of the start of shoot, the British actor best known for playing Loras Tyrell has revealed the two strong points of his Defenders training: martial arts and Buddhism!

With a big year coming up between the sixth season of the HBO show and his new role as a Marvel Cinematic Universe hero, Jones recently talked to Entertainment Weekly about his preparation for the role -- and it seems he's definitely doing his homework!

According to Screen Rant, in the interview, Jones revealed he was practicing "kung fu and wushu mixed with a bit of tai chi" to nail the fighting style for the part as well as bulking up to gain some more muscle -- and he's also begun meditation and studying Buddhism.

"I've always dreamed of a role that bridged spiritual discipline and badass superhero," the actor said. "There's a contradiction in those elements that's going to be very fun to play."

Introduced to the Marvel universe in 1974 during the wave of Asian martial arts films including Bruce Lee's, Danny Rand/Iron Fist is a New Yorker who grew up in the fictional legendary city of K'un-L'un, where he's taught the secrets of martial arts and how to connect with his chi. He's also bestowed a series of magical powers, notoriously including the ability to summon the powers of the Iron Fist.

As Heroic Hollywood reports, due to the heavy influence of Asian culture and values in Iron Fist, the move to hire a white actor was heavily criticized. Still, seeing as he's obviously working towards portraying the character in the most respectful way possible, perhaps some of the people who were unsure of the casting decision could be moved towards a more supportive attitude now.

Iron Fist will be the fourth series leading up to The Defenders after Daredevil, Jessica Jones and Luke Cage. For now, there's no official release date for the show.