SHE stars as Lagertha Lothbrok in Vikings, one of TV’s fiercest female characters, but Katheryn Winnick is totally fearless in real life.

Playing one of the period drama’s lead characters, the 37-year-old Canadian actress is making a name for herself in Hollywood as “one of the sexiest and most successful women to grace television screens in quite a while.”

But the tagline doesn’t sit too comfortably with Winnick, who has made the rare transition from taekwondo instructor to actress.

“I don’t really think about,” she told news.com.au, “I just do my job and I love doing it, but it’s very sweet [of fans to say].”

Winnick’s portrayal of Ragnar Lothbrok’s first wife Lagertha — a Viking, shield maiden, warrior and mother — is both inspiring and empowering, and her character has contributed to the History Channel making a shift away from being a very male-dominated network.

“I fell in love with Lagertha’s character and she’s a strong person and I identify with her, so I’m not surprised other women identify with her too,” she said.

“What’s interesting about playing Lagertha is that she is not only a warrior but she’s also a young mother, so she’s allowed to embrace her femininity and deal with issues when she gets more powerful and has a lot more strength and respect within the community.”

What fans might not know about Winnick is that she has an insane skill set when it comes to martial arts and self-defence. In fact, that might even be an understatement.

Starting martial arts at the age of seven, the self-confessed tomboy received her first black belt at 13. She then opened her first martial arts school at 16 and owned another two by the time she was 21.

Winnick currently holds a third-degree Black Belt in taekwondo and a second-degree Black Belt in Karate. She’s also a licenced bodyguard and believes it’s essential for women to know how to protect themselves.

“I think every woman has to learn how to defend themselves for sure, and if you can protect your body and have confidence in your body then in any situation you’d be able to defend yourself. It gives you the power and confidence has to start within yourself.”

Ironically, Winnick’s impressive training hasn’t been all that useful on the set of Vikings, as she had to learn how they fought in the Dark Ages, including wielding a sword.

“I’ve trained martial arts for many years, it gave me a sense of her [Lagertha’s] spirit and her strong will but taekwondo and Karate is an art form using both hands and feet ... and our style of fighting on the show was very raw and real, versus doing a roundhouse kick,” she explained.

Winnick, who speaks five languages (Ukrainian, Russian, French, Italian and English) said the real challenge had been learning to speak Old Norse. But, now that they are filming season four, the accent has finally become second nature.

On the show’s global success and her own subsequent fame, Winnick said the first three seasons had been one incredible ride.

“I’m always blown away how many different cultures the show reaches, Spain, Germany, Russia and I know we just opened up in Asia. Everybody is kind of now catching onto the show which is really exciting. It definitely changes your personal life.”

But, when pressed about recent rumours the action woman might snag a role in the next James Bond film, as well as play Carol Denvers in the Captain Marvel movie, she remained coy.

“I don’t know what will be the next move. I am a big fan of comics, so I definitely will pick up the phone when they call — if they call.”

VIKINGS season 3 is now available on Blu-ray and DVD.