Akshay Kumar has high regards for stutmen who risk their lives for meagre amounts of money and says if he had not been an actor, he would have been a stuntman.

"Stunt is an art. When we see stuntmen flying high and jumping from a highrise, we should respect that. And how much are they paid? Not more than Rs.6,000.

Having high regards for them, I can proudly say that had I not been an actor, I would have been a stuntman. It's one of the best works," Akshay told reporters here.

The actor, who returns to the small screen as the host of the fourth season of adventure reality show "Khatron Ke Khiladi", performed a nerve-wracking stunt at Filmcity to show that the stunts in this season will be original and not camera gimmicks.

Akshay did the stunt after almost five years and said: "I did this stunt almost after five years. Ejecting the car almost 15 feet above the ground, bursting the oil tanker and crashing it on ground.

It's one of the most difficult stunts. I had given all my experience to this stunt."

The show kicks off Friday on Colors.

Akshay had hosted the first two seasons, while the third one was done by Priyanka Chopra.

"I think she (Priyanka) did a pretty good job. Last time the design of the show required a female host. I watched it and I saw that she was very true with what she had done in the show," said Akshay, known as the Khiladi of Bollywood.

"Khatron Ke Khiladi" is the Indian version of the internationally hit show "Fear Factor", and involves dangerous tasks.