Charlize Theron kills ninjas in vid

Hollywood star Charlize Theron has indulged Australian director Nash Edgerton's childhood fantasy by killing ninjas in his latest music video.

The Oscar-winning actress can be seen battling scores of the black-clad bad guys in Crossfire, the debut single from Brandon Flowers of The Killers.

The special effects-packed video shows Flowers kidnapped by ninjas before Theron rescues the helpless singer with some steely swordsmanship.

"When I was a kid I used to dress up as ninjas, so it was a way of getting that out of my system,'' Edgerton told AAP from Los Angeles.

"It's about a relationship where one person is trying to get the other out of trouble, I wanted to do something around the idea of Brandon Flowers being saved.

"I was wondering who could possibly do this kind of thing to him and then it came to me ... ninjas."

Theron agreed to take the lead role after confessing to being a big fan of The Killers and Edgerton's film Spider.

An award-winning actress was always likely to light up the screen but Edgerton was equally impressed with Flowers' performance.

"He's naturally good in front of the camera but I suppose you have to be able to act when you're tied up," the 37-year-old joked.

"They both felt comfortable with what I was trying to do."

Edgerton - a former stuntman whose credits include being Ewan McGragor's double in Star Wars - has also produced music videos for Bob Dylan.

But the director remains focused on producing feature films and firmly committed to his filmmaking partnership with brother Joel.

"We get on really well and have similar interests," he said.

"We're best of friends and I can't imagine not working with him."

The pair wrote and directed Aussie flick The Square and are currently working on a new road movie meets horror film.

"It's still words on a page and I haven't got to the end," he teased.

"I know where it's going though."

Watch the video below:

- AAP