Hugh Jackman Thrilled To Play Villain In Chappie

by Helen Earnshaw | 6 March 2015

Hugh Jackman says he is thrilled to finally get the chance to play a villainous role in new film Chappie.

Hugh Jackman

Jackman has returned to the big screen today as he has teamed up with director Neill Blomkamp for the first time for this new science fiction film. And the movie sees Jackman take on a role that we have never seen him tackle… a villain.

And Jackman, who has always played the more heroic parts in his movie so far, is delighted that he has been given the chance to tackle such a role. However, Jackman does not believe that Vincent Moore is your typical villain.

Speaking to Collider, the actor said: "I'm thrilled to be asked to play it; all actors want to play the villain. It took me all these years to work out that the hero just gets beaten up the whole movie. You get a little more freedom to play it, that's for sure; whether it be the hair or shorts.

"I wouldn't call him an archetypal villain but I feel he does in a way occupy, in this film, a point of view that is important against artificial intelligence.

"Bill Gates, Stephen Hawking, there are many people out there echoing that same viewpoint. But you couple that in with someone who's been pushed into a corner in every way, his life's work has been challenged, and so with that particular character you're certainly seeing the worst side of him for sure.

"He believes what he's doing is important and right and there's a lot of ego, but I don't think anything in Neill [Blomkamp; the director and co-writer]'s films are archetypal, which is one of the great things about him."

We haven't seen Blomkamp in the director's chair since Elysium back in 2013, and he has brought together a great cast as Jackman is joined by Dev Patel, Sigourney Weaver, and Sharlto Copley.

This is the first time that we have seen Jackman on the big screen since he enjoyed huge success reprising the role of Wolverine in X-Men: Days of Future Past. And while this may be the first time that he has tackled the role of a villain… but it will not be his last.

Jackman is set to play Blackbeard as Peter Pan is brought back to the big screen by director Joe Wright in Pan - that will be hitting the big screen in the summer.