Hanyu, who also won the world title in 2014, which came after his Olympic triumph at Sochi 2014, has been cast to play a feudal lord in “Tono, Risoku de Gozaru!”

The film, which is due to be released in May, is based on a true story about a businessman who helped a village struggling with poverty around 250 years ago.

It is set in Miyagi, Hanyu’s home prefecture, and filming took place last summer.

Following the first set of filming, the 21-year-old broke the overall world record score for the men’s individual competition to win his third straight International Skating Union (ISU) Figure Skating Grand Prix Final title in Barcelona in December.

 “Acting was extremely difficult because you have to use words, and move as you speak,” he said.

Hanyu also admitted he was “nervous” performing in his acting role but he hopes it can help him on the ice by improving him as an artist.

Before the Japanese youngster appears on the big screen, he will be hoping to wrestle his men’s singles world title back from the grasp of Spanish rival Javier Fernandez in April at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships, which take place in Boston.

Hanyu earned bronze at the event in Nice in 2012 and had to settle for silver at last year’s competition in Shanghai.

He also won the Junior Grand Prix Final in Tokyo in 2010 and claimed the world junior title in The Hague, The Netherlands in the same year.

The 21-year-old cemented his status as one of the world’s top male figure skaters when he amassed a haul of 280.09 points to take Olympic gold at Sochi 2014 ahead of Canada’s Patrick Chan.