Hugh Jackman's character is "vulnerable in every way" in 'The Wolverine'.
The actor reprises his role as the clawed anti-hero for the upcoming 'X-Men' spin-off movie and says it includes a much deeper exploration into the character than previous 'X-Men' films, or 2009's 'X-Men Origins: Wolverine'.
He told SFX magazine: "In this story, he becomes literally vulnerable in every way. Not just emotionally, but physically vulnerable, and those implications were fun to play."
'The Wolverine' takes place after the events of 2006's 'X-Men: The Last Stand' and sees the nearly indestructible character isolate himself in Japan as he grieves the death of close friends and his love interest, Jean Grey [played by Famke Janssen].
Jackman added: "You see Logan [Wolverine's real name] at his lowest point at the beginning of this movie; the tragedy of his wasted life. For the sake of not only himself but everyone around him, he thinks it's better to be away because when he comes back to the world, there's destruction and pain."
Director James Mangold admits he was attracted to the film because of Wolverine's personal struggles, rather than just making a straight superhero action film.
He explained: "I have a hero who has lost everything and everyone, some at his own hands. In some cases the casualty of being [nearly] immortal is that you outlast the mortals you love and you have to go on forever without them. For me, finding a character in that predicament of being lost emotionally, but not depressed, was the classic predicament of Westerns and samurai films.
"It's a man of violence, who has violence in his past and is trying to separate himself from the world so no one gets hurt, but ultimately gets called upon to use that power and violence for good. It's absolutely the trajectory of our film."
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