Rihanna recalls acting ‘butterflies’

Rihanna was worried she'd "look like an idiot" in her acting debut.

The singer plays tough Petty Officer Cora Raikes in the action film Battleship, about a fleet of ships going to battle with an armada of unknown origins.

She describes her character as "a badass" and reveals her first major movie role was a challenge.

"I didn't know if I'd be any good at first, though," she told Shortlist. "I still get butterflies in my stomach every time they shout 'Action!' I'm putting in a lot of work to make sure I don't look like an idiot."

However, director Peter Berg believes she nailed the part. He hails his cast including Liam Neeson, Alexander Skarsgard and Taylor Kitsch.

"She reminds me of Will Smith — she has the same tremendous work ethic and she loves pushing herself," Peter said of Rihanna.

"She's going to have a great film career and I'm going to look like a genius [for putting her in a film first]!"

While Rihanna was initially unsure of the premise she recently said she was "blown away" when she watched the film. She was glad the film got to show off her acting talents – and her "fighter" personality.

"Funnily enough, action was what I wanted to do. It seemed badass and cool. I didn't imagine I'd be fighting aliens, but Battleship was a great way to get into movies and it was a role I could do. I was blown away when I saw it, it's really fun," she told British magazine more!

Battleship is set to hit theatres worldwide from April 11.