Getting in shape to play a role isn't something exactly new for actor Sean Faris. He trained with a hockey pro for his starring role in the 2004 television drama "Life as We Know It," and took up rugby training for his upcoming film "Forever Strong."

And with his lead role as a mixed martial arts (MMA) student in "Never Back Down," it's become increasingly clear that the 25-year-old Houston native isn't afraid to back down from any rigorous training in the film school of hard knocks.

"We trained six hours a day, six days a week for three months to prepare for it," Faris said in a recent @ The Movies interview. "It was definitely the most physically challenging thing that I've had to endure for a movie -- and in my life."

Opening in theaters Friday, "Never Back Down" stars Faris as Jake Tyler, a high school football star who moves with his family from their hometown to Orlando, Fla., to supporting his younger brother's fledgling tennis career.

Viewed as an outsider, Jake quickly earns a reputation as a quick-tempered brawler. Worse yet, in an attempt to fit in, he's humiliated in a fight by a school bully. But Jake's attitude begins to change when he's invited by a classmate to train in the sport of MMA, where Jake must learn from his mentor (Djimon Hounsou) that MMA is not to be used as street fighting, but as an art form.

The difference between Faris' role in "Never Back Down" and his other sports roles, is that essentially, learning MMA was like learning several disciplines, from wrestling, jiu jitsu and karate, to sambo and muay-thai.

The most important thing, Faris said, is not to define MMA as some form of human dogfighting.

"It's chess with blood," Faris analogized. "I think 75 percent of MMA fighters today have college degrees. They're very smart people. They're at the top of the class and top of their sport, and they want to see who is best. The rules are set in a way that people aren't walking away with permanent, serious injuries any more."

That's because at one time -- MMA, which dates back to the 1920s -- was considered a very risky sport. It's become much more standardized in recent years. Faris compared the fast-rising sport to boxing, but insisted MMA is much safer.

"You can get knocked out quicker because you're receiving a heavier blow without padding," Faris explained. "But even then, what's more unsafe? Getting punched in the face for 36 minutes in boxing or getting hit with one, big knockout punch? I think it's boxing, personally. Plus, there's other means of ending the fight in MMA. There's submission and putting people to sleep. That's always fun."

The job did come with some perils, though, but it didn't cause Faris to back away from the role.

"I snapped a bone in my back -- snapped it right in half -- and broke my thumb, too," Faris recalled. "It was not my happiest day.

"But I never took a day off and we didn't stop production one bit -- I consider myself a bad man," he added, laughing.

Of course, with other projects in the works, Faris has moved away from MMA training. But that's not to say that his acquired MMA skills wouldn't come in handy, say, if he were to come into a precarious situation.

The interesting thing is, the skills he learned from the movie wouldn't come into play in the way you would think.

"It's not a movie that endorses fighting. It's a movie that endorses the lessons learned through MMA," Faris said. "MMA is about self-control, confidence and discipline."

The key, Faris said, is that "once you gain the confidence, you remove the fear factor so you don't need to fight."

"If everybody walked around super-confident, without fear and secure with themselves, there would be a lot less fighting going on in the world," Faris said.