PETALING JAYA, Nov 13 — Actor Hairul Azreen has refuted claims that his shirtless appearance in Wira was just a cheap stunt to lure viewers to the theatre.

The 31-year-old said he chose to show some skin in the action flick to do justice to his character of an ex-military man.

“Sorry, I am not selling my body but I am selling action scenes to attract moviegoers to the cinema.

“The shirtless scenes were made for the fight sequences featured in the film,” he was quoted as saying by Harian Metro.

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Hairul said he was acting under the requests of Wira director Adrian Teh, who also directed and produced Hairul’s previous film Paskal.

The father-of-two added that he even tore the ligament of his right leg during the rigorous filming process.

“I was only following (Teh’s) orders as he wanted the shirtless scenes to solidify the storyline.

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“I did hurt myself while filming Paskal but the injury I suffered to make Wira possible has been the worst so far.

“But it’s okay because Wira is the action film I’ve been dreaming of for a long time.”

Hairul plays the role of Hassan, an ex-military man who is tasked with freeing his family from the clutches of a local thug named Raja.

Other Malaysian and Indonesian stars in Wira include Fify Azmi, Henley Hii, Yayan Ruhian, Ismi Melinda, Dain Said, Hilal Azman, and Josiah Hogan.

It’s set to open in Malaysian cinemas on November 21.