Hugh Jackman Interview at Blockbuster.co.uk

Hugh Jackman's back with the film we've all been waiting for, and it's even better than we'd hoped. Blockbuster.co.uk's Marshall Julius catches up with the star of X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

"Gavin and I were totally aware of the expectations surrounding this project," reveals Hugh Jackman, an actor who's every bit as likeable and approachable as he appears to be, and easily as charismatic in the flesh as he is on screen, if not more so. "The story, the characters, the style, the action. there wasn't any aspect of it the fans didn't discuss in excruciating detail. What we aimed to do was actually exceed everyone's expectations, to give them much more than they were expecting, to take them places they never imagined, and I think we achieved that.

"Having played, in the last three movies, a character who didn't know where he came from, who he was or even how old he was, it was great to be able to finally fill in all those blanks. One thing we were never interested in making though," emphasises the actor, "was making X-Men 4 in disguise. We never really thought of Wolverine as a spin-off, but something new, with its own personality.

"The only thing that was tough for me to come to terms with was not having Halle Berry on the set," jokes Hugh. "Our film's a completely different animal, and that's the way we wanted it, but still, it took me months to get over Halle."

Berry aside, Jackman's enthusiasm for the project in general, and his character in particular, burns fiercer than ever. "I always liked the idea of someone at war with himself," he explains, "the human vs the animal within. Part of him wants to retreat and be on his own, while the other part wants to connect and fall in love, and both of those were exciting areas for me to explore as an actor. These dualities are something that you look for in a role - I never thought I'd find them in a comicbook character!"

Though it isn't a trait from the original comicbooks, Jackman added a fear of flying to Wolverine's already complicated psychological profile. "Although I love flying myself," he begins, "ever since I saw Indiana Jones, with his fear of snakes, I was fascinated by the almost abstract concept of a tough guy, a man who's brave and smart, having one, almost irrational fear. A character like Wolverine, someone who's quite animalistic, even though it's almost impossible for him to die, I could imagine he wouldn't like feeling out of control in the air. A character has to show at least a little vulnerability. It makes him more interesting, and more human."

Even during his darkest moments, Wolverine has buckets more humanity than his savagely cruel half-brother Victor, aka Sabretooth, as played by the always magnetic Liev Schreiber. "He was the first person I wanted to cast in the film," stresses Jackman. "I've worked with him before and he's a good friend. He's also incredibly strong and an amazing actor. I always knew he was more than capable of fulfilling this part."

Much like Schreiber, Jackman gives his all to every role he plays, and especially with Wolverine, the Aussie star insisted on doing as many of his own stunts as possible. "I come from a sports background, and though I was never great at it," he concludes with characteristic modestly, "I've always loved doing stunts. Fighting, stunt work and choreography is something I've always enjoyed. Audiences are smart. They know when you're using a double. It adds so much to a movie when the audience sees it's you. That's always worth the extra effort."

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