Regina King thinks Idris Elba “is the world’s sexiest man”

She told As If magazine: “He is a lovely person. This is the second film we have done together and we’ve been wanting to work together again. Let’s see… my son Ian is 25, so it’s probably been 14 years since we worked together. We worked on a film called 'This Christmas'. Idris is the world’s sexiest man, but he’s a good, good man and that is the sex appeal that is coming through. His generosity comes through.”

The ‘Ray’ star reflected about getting ready for the new Western - which also stars Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz and LaKeith Stanfield - such as getting to grips with horseback riding, something she is “not a huge fan of”.

She said: “I have ridden a horse before, but I am not a huge fan of horseback riding. Look, I can ride one on the beach on a Costa Rican vacation! We all had to learn how to look in control of the horse.

"They wanted us to wear helmets during our training, and I told them that if I won’t be wearing a helmet in the film then I won’t be wearing a helmet now. If I am going to relax into this role and find the truth, then I don’t want to get used to wearing a helmet because when the filming starts, I’m going to feel like something is missing.”

The ‘Watchman’ star also gave an insight into the upcoming film adaption of the ‘Bitter Root’ comics - a story focused in the Harlem Renaissance in the 20s - which Regina will direct and is planning to use as an “opportunity” to show a new side of herself.

She said: “It’s provided me with the opportunity to flex my muscles in a way I haven’t before. Bitter Root has a depth as well. For our version, we are going to honour the comic book and the fans, but we are going to find the heart and bring that out. Bitter Root is a family business, so it’s really important in the telling of the story…we’re choosing to tell the story through the lens of an unexpected character. This is going to be a world that is going to have a substantial amount of VFX [visual effects]. But it’s also an opportunity to really work with the production designer in a way I haven’t before because we are going to build the world.”