Jesse Eisenberg was initially unsure about starring in 'The Art of Self-Defense'

Actor Jesse Eisenberg says he was initially hesitant to star in "The Art of Self-Defense" as he thought the character was just another "typical nervous male protagonist".

The black comedy features the 35-year-old actor as Casey Davies, a young man who after a rough encounter on the street decides to take up martial arts, falling more and more into his paranoia in the process.

"It seems like it's going to be a typical story of an average man finding his inner strength. And I didn't want to do that kind of movie because I felt that I had done similar kinds of movies," he told EW.

"But I thought the script was so funny that I just kept reading out of curiosity, and thank God I did, because the movie so brilliantly subverts that trope. It becomes this very unusual, surreal, but wry commentary on the absurdities of masculinity," Eisenberg added.

Directed by Riley Stearns, who also wrote the script, the film also features Alessandro Nivola and Imogen Poots.