He's that reluctant hero, and he's a fairly classic version of it. He reminds me of characters I always liked, Mad Max, Dirty Harry, Han Solo, where there's more going on than what they're letting on.

[Along with the new characters, producers added more fight scenes to this sequel.] I think that's one thing we decided was very important as a development, ... X2.

I had a fairly enlightened dad, though if you looked at his resume, it might not seem that way. He was a chartered accountant for Price Waterhouse. He was strict, and we had a very ordered life. To this day, I am the least materialistic person I know, because my father didn't raise me to just go out and buy this or that car.

Comic book fans have loved Wolverine, and all the 'X-Men' characters, for more than the action. I think that's what set it apart from many of the other comic books. In the case of Wolverine, when he appeared, he was a revolution really. He was the first anti-hero.

When I made 'Real Steel,' the director actually had the robots in the monitor, so he knew where everything was. So technically, there's been advancements. But at the end of the day, movies are about story and characters, so all the other stuff is great, but unless you have those two elements, then you've got nothing.

Vampires are handy characters, as they can do double duty as monster/villains and the classic, misunderstood romantic hero.