Hitman: Agent 47's Rupert Friend says his shaved head is so 'pointy'

The Homeland actor had to say goodbye to his hair to play a genetically-engineered professional assassin in Hitman: Agent 47, based on the computer games.

“(When I first looked in the mirror), I thought, ‘Wow, look at my pointy head’. One doesn’t see it, I have a very odd-shaped head,” he explained.

“It looks a bit like an egg and there’s an odd lump at the back, which I like to think has some kind of denotation of greater intelligence.”

The British star continued: “I think that’s some sort of cranial sub-lobe, or it may be that I’ve bumped my head a lot, which is true.

“There’s a lot of nicks and scars on it. I’ve hit my head a lot so it may well just be that, but you should remember them all – walking into a roof, motorbike, motorbike, shelf.”

Rupert, who has starred in period dramas such as Pride And Prejudice, The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas and The Young Victoria, underwent intense training for the Agent 47 role, learning Krav Maga, Filipino knife fighting and judo, as well as working with a world champion boxer.

Yet there was an elegance to his killing.

“It’s something that I wanted to develop. I wanted a deadly ballet in this film because he’s a guy who does what he does and wears a beautiful tailored suit every day to do it,” the 33-year-old actor said.

“This isn’t a thug, this isn’t a brutish mercenary – this is someone who, in some odd way, takes pride in his style whether that’s of killing or dressing, so I wanted the movement to have that kind of grace to it.”

Zachary Quinto and Hannah Ware also star in Hitman: Agent 47, which opens in cinemas on Thursday, August 27.