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Anthony Mackie can't wait to get to grips with his next role - as a vampire slayer in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.
The actor, who stars in The Adjustment Bureau with Matt Damon, is to take on the spine-chilling part alongside Dominic Cooper and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in Timur Bekmambetov's big-screen adaptation of Seth Grahame-Smith's novel.
"I'm really excited about getting my machete and [to] start chopping on vampires," he told Collider.com.
Asked about his preparation to portray a killer of bloodsuckers, he admitted it would take "a lot of cardio".
Anthony, who will play Will - the best friend of former US President Abraham Lincoln - revealed he had to fight for the part.
"When I first heard about it, it sounded kind of ridiculous. I was like, 'There's no way they can make this into a good movie - a viable project'," he said.
"That's when I read the script, and I talked to the director Timur and I was really blown away by what he put together and the idea - the premise of the story."
He added: "It's actual historic accounts of Abraham Lincoln in the past and they just put in this vampire sub-plot which actually works really well. I was really surprised by what they were able to do with this script."
Filming is set to begin at the end of March in New Orleans, with an expected release in 2012.
