"Iron" Mike Tyson promises more fireworks on the silver screen as he continues to reinvent himself as an actor in both Hollywood and "Chinawood".

No one can play tough like former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who wrapped up filming Ip Man 3 in China earlier this week to build on his successful cameos in The Hangover trilogy.

In the $36-million final chapter of the trilogy about Bruce Lee's Wing Chun mentor, the 48-year-old gets to flex his acting muscle in 'Chinawood' by playing a shady property developer called Frank.

"I love being the bad guy," said Tyson, drawing out the second word with relish before breaking into a villainous laugh. "I'm a good villain - a rogue with a kind heart."

Neither Jason Statham in Furious 7 nor Ving Rhames in Pulp Fiction were this convincing. Even when Tyson hams it up against the Wolf Pack in self-parody, the air of brooding menace is inescapable.

"I'm an entertainer. Well, the industry says I'm an actor. I'll be whatever they want me to be," Tyson, who was spending 10 days filming in Shanghai, told China Daily on May 15. It was his fourth trip to China.

"When I did The Hangover, it was such a success (I decided) this is what I'm going to do now," he said. "This is my bread and butter."

"Acting calls for you to be outside yourself, to be what you would never want to be and never choose to be, and what you despise to be," he added, dipping into the kind of cryptic, dark waters in which he is known to swim.

The Hangover (2009) eclipsed Beverly Hills Cop to become the second-most successful R-rated comedy ever in the United States.

"I've got a good memory, so I remember my lines. Not that I study. I just remember," said the man known for obliterating his opponents in the ring in the 1980s.

Tyson famously KO'd Michael Spinks in 91 seconds while at the height of his powers.

In 1986 he became the youngest-ever undisputed heavyweight champion of the world at the age of 20 years, four months and 22 days.

He earned a reported $300 million to 400 million during his career, declared bankruptcy in 2003, and is now said to be worth around $1 million.

In true iconoclastic style, he gave the interview while playing Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare at his hotel suite in Shanghai's Songjiang district. He appeared in good humor and, alternately, affable, cryptic, chummy, preoccupied and gentleman-like.

It was 7am but he and his third wife and agent Lakiha Spicer had already finished their morning workouts.

"We got up late today. I got up at 4:30am," said Tyson, whose demeanor can shift disconcertingly in a split-second from grizzly bear to teddy bear, and vice-versa.

In person, he appears vulnerable and dangerous, befuddled and razor-sharp, all at the same time. From the way he shuffles heavily around the hotel room, it is easy to forget the superlative power of those fists of fury - until his eyes lock on to yours and narrow.

He often pauses before answering questions, shifts into philosophical gear, and then gives a deadly or thousand-yard stare when he is done.

He is just as likely to break out in a mischievous laugh and invite you to join him on the Play Station as finish a sentence by exhaling slowly from the back of his throat, as though a demon were trying to claw its way out before he chains it back up inside.

Tyson was nursing a fractured left index finger the morning we met from sparring with lead actor Donnie Yen on-set the day before. When asked whether Yip Man, the hero, gets to beat him up, a smile crept onto his lips.

"I don't know about that. You'll just have to watch the movie," said Tyson, who also appeared in Scary Movie 5 and Meet the Blacks, now in post-production "He's got some bruises, too."

Ip Man 3 is due out in China in February 2016. American distributors are already being courted.

Director Wilson Yip was impressed enough by Tyson's performance to add more fight sequences and scenes for the actor, according to Max Screen, the local distributor. Media reports claimed Tyson is learning Chinese and that the key scene will play out in an abandoned factory.

"It was very exciting to work with him," said Yen, who posted photos online earlier last week showing a hugely swollen right hand. "We were able to understand each other really well."

In the previous two films, Yip Man fought a sadistic Japanese sergeant, pitting wushu against karate, and a racist British boxer. In No 3, Yen looks set to face a pair of villains painted various shades of gray. Tyson's is in league with Hong Kong's chief of police.

"Most trilogies are never better than the first part. This one is going to step up. A lot of drama, more realistic. It's real. Life on life's terms," said Tyson.

Reports say Ip Man 3 will be released in 3D and feature a CGI Bruce Lee as no convincing actor could be found to portray the kungfu icon. All filming is being done on location in Shanghai and at Hengdian World Studios in Zhejiang, dubbed "Chinawood".

The movie focuses more on the student-teacher bond between Lee and Yip, something Tyson, who found in coach Cus D'Amato a surrogate father figure, could relate to.

D'Amato was able to repair the troubled teen's fragile sense of self but tragically died one year before Tyson stunned the world by dropping into the ring like an atom bomb to snatch the World Boxing Council title.

"The only way a person can be truly successful is if he has a mentor that he wants to impress and make happy," he said.

"I wanted to impress Cus. I wanted to make him happy. I don't know if I ever thought I could be heavyweight champion, but he made me feel that way. And I knew if I did that, he would be proud of me. My goal in life was to get his acceptance."

Reflecting on his tumultuous life and career, which involved a disastrous marriage to Robin Givens, several years in jail, a law suit against former promoter Don King, and a notorious ear-biting incident with four-time world heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield, Tyson said he has never looked back.

"I never regret once that I retired (from boxing)," he said. "The best thing that ever happened to me was that I retired. Now I can live my life."

matthewhodges@chinadaily.com.cn