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In the action adventure Bulletproof Monk that opens Wednesday, King plays Jade, a mysterious woman with astonishing fighting prowess.
"Training in martial arts and kung-fu is essentially what I did for six months. I trained extensively for two months before filming started and then every day while we were filming," says King, whose films include Pearl Harbor, Slackers and Blow.
In one of the film's climactic battles, King fights with British actress Victoria Smurfit, who plays the villain's granddaughter.
"I had been insisting on doing as much of my stunt work as possible. At one point in the fight, Victoria is swinging a baton at me and she actually hit me with it and impaled my eye."
King says she dropped to her knees in agony.
Her only consolation was realizing she had kicked the butt of her co-star, Seann William Scott, on more than one occasion, leaving him with bruises that had to be covered with make up.
"In our fights Seann would always insist I really go for it and hit him. I would and he'd groan, but then tell me it was all part of the process."
Her greatest thril playing Jade in Bulletproof Monk was "finally getting to play such a strong character. I've never seen myself in that way and neither did casting directors," says King, who started her career as a model.