Rihanna Gets Tough In 'Battleship' Film Debut

By Larry Yepez Jr.

Rihanna makes her big screen debut in Battleship, based on the popular board game with the same name. The first images, just released, portray Rihanna as kick-ass officer Raikes. "Battleship", which hits theaters on 2012, tells the story of a fleet of Navy ships fighting an armada of unknown origins, and the pop diva is the only female on the crew of the ship.

We are used to seeing this pop beauty with the funky do's and the avant-garde fashion style but in Battleship we'll see a much more conservative Rihanna, in uniform as a toned down brunette, a much more proper look for that of a woman in military service. Her beauty still radiates, anyways.

Director Peter Berg casted Rihanna in the film, and she sounded excited about the outcome.

"It was a role I felt like I could handle for my first time acting and he (Berg) was super enthusiastic about it", she said in an interview with Fandango.

Preparing for the role wasn't easy. Rihanna had to undergo real Navy trainings, including weight lifting, swimming and bootcamp with the typical mean sergeant screaming in her face.

"One man drilled me, yelled at me, cursed me out, made me do push-ups!", she recalled.

- How could someone yell at such a pretty face? I certainly wouldn't be able to!

So is Rihanna on her way to become another pop-star-turned movie-star, like Justin Timberlake and Will Smith? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Battleship is set for release in May of 2012. The film also stars True Blood vampire Alexander Skarsgard, model Brooklyn Decker and Liam Neeson.

What do you think of Rihanna doing a crossover transition music to the big screen?

Tags Alexander Skarsgard, Battleship, Blogger: Larry Yepez Jr, Brooklyn Decker, Justin Timberlake, Liam Neeson, Peter Berg, Rihanna