Vinnie Jones wants comedy roles

Vinnie Jones wants to move away from action roles and become a comic actor.

The 'X-Men: The Last Stand' star - who became an actor after enjoying a successful career as a soccer player known for his tough style of play in England - would love to take on roles that make people laugh but feels he has been stereotyped as a hard man.

He told Recognise magazine: "I'd like to get into comedy, but no one will take the chance - I'm not known for my comedy.

"A lot of my roles are tongue-in-cheek but people don't see it. The trouble is you go and do a nice piece, like a film I shot with Derek Jacobi and Vanessa Redgrave a few years ago where I had the lead role. All the critics said it was a great little film, a great story and great acting, but audiences just want to see Vinnie bashing people up. It's a catch 22, really."

Vinnie is referring to 2207 film 'The Riddle', a murder mystery which focused on a girl who is killed after she discovers an unpublished Charles Dickens manuscript.

Along with moving into comedy, Vinnie is also keen to move behind the camera and direct a film.

The 46-year-old star has revealed he is keen to shoot a remake of 'Escape to Victory' - a 1981 movie which saw a group of prisoners of war during the Second World War forced to play a team of Nazi soldiers and starred Sylvester Stallone and legendary players Bobby Moore, Pele and Ossie Ardiles.

He added: "Have I directed something yet? No. But it is inevitable that it will happen. Inevitable. It's a three-year process, minimum. We've got stuff going on. We're trying to produce a remake of 'Escape to Victory' - we've got a lot of players involved but it takes a while to get things going here."