<p class="title">Akshay Kumar says he is in "the best phase" of his career as he is now getting to an opportunity to do different types of films.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Regarded as an action star in his early days, the 50-year-old star has cemented his place in the industry over almost three decades by featuring in romance dramas, comedies and issue-based movies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This is the best phase for me as an actor. I was always wary of having an image. When I came in the film industry I was given action hero tag, no one would offer me a romantic or comedy film, only action films were offered to me.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I kept doing action films for 14 years. There was no growth. I would call this as the best phase as I can do lot of things like 'Kesari', as an action film, 'Housefull 4' as a comedy film and some socially-relevant movies. I get to play so many characters and do all kind of films," Akshay said in an interview here.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The actor said it was tough for him to break out from the action hero mould.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"... It was a difficult phase. It was hard to break an image and come out of it and I feel lucky I could do so," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He credits frequent collaborator, filmmaker Priyadarshan, for trusting him with light-hearted movies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I also have to thank David Dhawan who gave me 'Me Aur Mrs Khiladi' and Rajkumar Santoshi for 'Khakee'. Things started changing since then," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Akshay's latest, "Gold", released on Wednesday. </p>
<p class="title">Akshay Kumar says he is in "the best phase" of his career as he is now getting to an opportunity to do different types of films.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Regarded as an action star in his early days, the 50-year-old star has cemented his place in the industry over almost three decades by featuring in romance dramas, comedies and issue-based movies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"This is the best phase for me as an actor. I was always wary of having an image. When I came in the film industry I was given action hero tag, no one would offer me a romantic or comedy film, only action films were offered to me.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I kept doing action films for 14 years. There was no growth. I would call this as the best phase as I can do lot of things like 'Kesari', as an action film, 'Housefull 4' as a comedy film and some socially-relevant movies. I get to play so many characters and do all kind of films," Akshay said in an interview here.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The actor said it was tough for him to break out from the action hero mould.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"... It was a difficult phase. It was hard to break an image and come out of it and I feel lucky I could do so," he said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">He credits frequent collaborator, filmmaker Priyadarshan, for trusting him with light-hearted movies.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I also have to thank David Dhawan who gave me 'Me Aur Mrs Khiladi' and Rajkumar Santoshi for 'Khakee'. Things started changing since then," he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Akshay's latest, "Gold", released on Wednesday. </p>