Australian superstar Hugh Jackman returned to his X-Men roots as the iconic character of Wolverine/Logan for X-Men Origins: Wolverine. After the jump, Jackman (who also produced X-Men Origins) explains why he wanted more action in film than in the last X-Men picture, how he thought Wolverine had become a bit of a softie, and talks about the film’s love story and why the music of Godsmack is important in turning beastly. (Plus, this week in home video, all after the jump.)

While Wolverine’s past was always kept murky and mysterious throughout the trilogy of X-Men movies, his beginnings and his transformation into an adamantium-clawed mutant are all covered in this, the first in a planned series of X-Men Origins movies. Spanning over 150 years, X-Men Origins: Wolverine chronicles young James Logan and his troubled youth alongside his mutant half-brother, Victor Creed aka Sabretooth (Liev Schreiber). From Logan fighting in the US Civil War, the First and Second World Wars and Vietnam, through his terrible falling out with Victor, to his membership in Team X and his infamous adamantium rebirth, Wolverine’s once deep, dark past is completely revealed.

The Gavin Hood-directed film also introduces moviegoers to such iconic X-Men characters as the explosive Gambit/Remy LeBeau (Taylor Kitsch) and as the self-healing Deadpool/Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds, who will reprise the role as the star of the next X-Men Origins installment).

Why can’t people ever get enough of X-Men?
“It’s a great story, and the more I have been involved in the X-Men world, and the more I have read the comics, the more richness I have found in this character.”

How protective do you feel about X-Men Origins: Wolverine versus the other X-Men movies, since this is really you, front and center?
“Every role I do has no less effort or desire. Every film has that sense for me, as an actor. But, obviously, this movie has a different dimension, as a producer. Particularly, I found myself asking the cast what they thought of the movie, and I was nervous about it. In that way, I feel it’s more personal to me. It’s more my baby. I asked all these actors and Gavin Hood, the director, to come on board, so obviously I’m more attached to it. It feels more personal. That’s the difference.”

Why was it important to you to include more of Wolverine’s relationships as well as the action, since comic book fans just want to see the action?
“I don’t think that’s true. 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. It was not just good guys versus bad guys, but an internal battle of good and bad, going on within the character. That’s why people relate to them. Yeah, they’re cool and they’ve got claws and can do amazing things with swords and cards, and all that great, fun stuff, but each one of them has a personal battle going on, and that’s why audiences can relate. So, yes, the first priority of this movie is for it to be fun. I want people to come and have a great time. I want them to be entertained. But, what we have an opportunity to deliver — and this is in the comic book itself — is to make them think a little bit and make them feel, and take them on a journey through these characters.”

Can you talk about reinterpreting Wolverine and making him a little bit different from the Wolverine character that the fans got to know in the previous X-Men movies?
“With these movies, about every third day, for the rest of your life, you hear a critique about how you played the part, what you should have done differently, and what you can do the next time, if you ever get a shot at it. I knew exactly what fans wanted, and not just the comic book fans, but fans of the movie. It’s fair to say that, by X-Men 3, Wolverine had gone a little soft, and I agree with them there. What fans love about Wolverine is his more uncompromising approach to life. He is who he is. He’s not always a nice guy. He has got edge. He’s an anti-hero. And, there’s also a vulnerability in there. There is conflict and battles going on in there. With Gavin and the other actors, I had the chance to explore that more. I wanted the film to feel different. Gavin and I talked a lot about the aesthetic and tone of it. It’s a little darker, a little rawer, a little tougher and, hopefully, maybe even a little more human. That’s really what has appealed to me about the comic book. And, no more black leather suits.”

This your fourth time playing this same character. What is new for you about it? Are you used to the action or did it somehow feel new to you?
“Everything felt new to me. Everything was new. It took me a little while to get over the fact that Halle Berry wasn’t on set, most days. Sorry, I jest. Yes, I’m playing the same character, but I’m filling in approximately a hundred years of his life, that had never been explored before and had been unknown to him. So, it was a chance to reveal that. What Gavin and I talked about, right from the beginning, was that we didn’t want that shot at the beginning of the movie, where people say, ‘Yeah, that’s Wolverine!’ I wanted to see him evolve. You see him, at the very beginning, as a little kid, very unlike how you would imagine Wolverine to be, as a young boy. That was a wonderful young actor. And, to watch him evolve was fantastic. Not my main reason, but part of the reason I wanted someone like Gavin, and all the actors shared this feeling, is that he is an amazing actor’s director. He gets straight to the heart of it. He won’t take any B.S. He won’t take anything less than your best, most committed work, all the time. There was many an occasion where I felt a kind of friendly arm around my shoulder after take one, or sometimes before take one. Gavin has that ability, even though I had played the role three times, and yes it may be my fourth time putting the claws on, to make it feel fresh, new, deeper and, hopefully, more honest.”

What are some of the character points you share with Wolverine?
“At some point we have to share some, obviously. Probably could be moments in my life when if provoked, I could have some reactions — but not all the time. I’m more at ease with myself than he is.”

How do you get inside the head of Wolverine?
“You know, I feel very blessed in my life. I have a great life, and I really couldn’t be happier. But let’s face it, I’m 40 and I have experienced dark times, like everyone else, times when I’ve been incredibly angry. Particularly I think when I was younger. Also, I use tricks for myself, little tools. I’ve done a little thing on every Wolverine movie, which is almost a superstition now. I have an ice-cold shower every morning! It started when we were making the first X-Men in Toronto. I had to wake up at five a.m. for filming, and it was cold. I wanted to get a shower, but there was no hot water. So I just jumped in. And I couldn’t make any noise, because I didn’t want to wake up my wife. But I remember I just wanted to scream some swear words, yet I just didn’t. So I stayed in the cold water washing for like 35 seconds, and then I said to myself, ‘That’s it! That’s Wolverine. He wants to yell and scream, and take everybody’s head off and be angry. But he can’t. He’s trying to hold it in.’ And ever since that moment, I’ve had a cold shower every morning. And if you imagine waking up and having an ice cold shower, all you have to do is remember it. And instantly you just want to smack someone.”

As an acting technique, do any of you ever listen to music on set to get into character? If so, what was on your playlist?
“Not on set, but when I train, I listen to Godsmack, which is the kind of music I would rarely listen to. I’d listen to it really high, as loud as I can. Sometimes, it’s a little embarrassing when you’re in a public gym. To me, that was as close to Wolverine as I could get. There is a sensitivity to Wolverine. But, it’s not easy to access.”

What scene do you tell your kids was your favorite to do?
“One of the scenes that I really love watching is the sequence of the war. We spent two weeks shooting it, it was unbelievable, we were there with thousand of extras recreating that amazing explosions and wars. I had a lot of friends coming to visit me on the set at that time. That was fun to do and fun to watch.”

Do you have any other special memories from the set??
“It was good for me. I liked it. It’s my Australian sense of humor. Genuinely, for me, it’s a rare experience, as a producer, to be involved so heavily with casting and to feel so attached to a scene you’re about to play with everybody and the actors who are playing the characters. Some directors don’t like to rehearse so, often on film, you can turn up the day before and meet someone who is playing your wife or your lover. I was so excited to be involved because movies exist on relationships and characters, and to be in every one of these scenes was a great thrill for me. And then, as a personal moment, when we were all together in January, when finally Ryan Reynolds’ schedule had loosened up for us, and we had all flown in to be with him, we were shooting and it was the inauguration, and we all stopped to view the inauguration of the President. For me, that was a highlight because, by that point, we felt like family. To be together and to be united again by that moment was pretty amazing.”

Can you talk about working with Lynn Collins and developing the love story between Wolverine and Kayla Silverfox?
“Lynn plays a character, and fulfills a role, that was so vital to this movie. For fans, it will be a little shocking to see a love story there. But, for anyone who knows acting and film structure, what Lynn had to pull off in the film was probably one of the most difficult things to do. She did an amazing job, and I was really, really proud of what she did. The casting of Lynn was something Gavin and I were so passionate about. The person that Wolverine could be in love with, but more importantly, the person who could be in love with this guy, was so vital and she did an amazing job. I don’t want to belittle anybody else in the film. I’m so proud of it. I just wanted to say what an amazing job she did.”

Are you open to doing an X-Men sequel?
“I don’t know, but I love the Japanese story that is in the comic book. I’ll be open to it. But I’m not interest in telling a story that nobody wants to hear, so lets see what happens with this one.”

X-Men Origins: Wolverine Blu-ray and Special Edition DVD Bonus Features: Commentary by director Hood and producers Lauren Shuler Donner and Ralph Winter, a conversation with Wolverine co-creator Len Wein and the legendary Stan Lee, deleted and alternate scenes, behind-the-scenes featurettes, Live Lookup, a Digital Copy and much more.

Grace
A hit at the Sundance Film Festival, the Paul Solet-written/directed Grace is a creepy, paranormal pregnancy thriller. The film tells the ghoulish story of a mother who decides to give birth to what the doctors believe is a stillborn full-term baby. Against all medical odds, the unborn baby is delivered, alive, kicking and very hungry. However, the miracle child has a hankering for more than just his mother’s milk. Baby Grace has an appetite for a much meatier substance. A raw, bloody slice of terror. On DVD and Blu-ray. Bonus Features: Audio commentary, six “making-of” featurettes and the theatrical trailer.

Trumbo
This compelling, often gut-wrenching docu-drama (starring Joan Allen, Michael Douglas, Nathan Lane, Josh Lucas, Liam Neeson and Donald Sutherland) recreates the true events of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo’s rise to fame in Hollywood and his instant fall from grace when he is named one of the “Hollywood Ten” and is blacklisted by the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1940s for his Communist associations. Forced to write under pseudonyms, he would triumph over the suppression of free speech by winning Oscars for Roman Holiday and The Brave One. Bonus Features: Paul Giamatti and Danny Glover read Trumbo’s actual letters, and a photo gallery.

The Big Bang Theory: The Complete Second Season
The smart and wonderfully goofy sitcom The Big Bang Theory got even funnier in its second season (Season Three begins this month). Th is the show that proves there’s a real science to great comedy. Bonus Features: Two featurettes and a gag reel.

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia: Season Four
Forget the weather forecasting, you can always count on it being rude, crude, vulgar and obscenely funny at Paddy’s Pub in Philly, thanks to the masterful comedic stylings of actors/writers Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito. On the most politically incorrect show on the airwaves, the IASIP troupe isn’t afraid to poke fun at any subject — from mental illness to molestation — to elicit laughs  from viewers. Season Four boasts  guest stars Sinbad and Matchbox 20 lead singer Rob Thomas — as well as Charlie’s legendary Nightman opera. Bonus Features: Featurettes, blooper reel, deleted scenes, a live stage performance of “Nightman” and more.

Triangle
Created by Hong Kong cinema masters Tsui Hark, Ringo Lam and Johnnie To, the unique Triangle is comprised of three independently-filmed and -produced sections that form one comedic and daring crime caper. When three close friends find a way to make quick money by stealing an ancient treasure buried under a tightly-secured government building, they never counted on affairs, traitors or crooked cops to complicate the already tough, deadly heist. Filled with loads of frenetic energy, slick camera work and sharp comedy, Triangle is Hong Kong cinema that sets itself apart.

Grey’s Anatomy: The Complete Fifth Season • Private Practice: The Complete Second Season
In its fifth year on the air — with a talented ensemble cast that includes Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh, Katherine Heigl, Justin Chambers, T.R. Knight and Chandra Wilson — the comedy has only gotten sharper and the drama cuts even deeper on Grey’s Anatomy. Bonus Features: Bloopers, deleted scenes, cast interviews, extended episodes and cast interviews. • After an uneven first season, the Grey’s Anatomy spin-off, Private Practice, has planted itself on creatively steady ground for its sophomore year. With Kate Walsh (as Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery) heading up another fine group of actors in Season Two of the equally passionate medical series. Bonus Features: Behind-the-scenes featurettes and more.

One Step Beyond: The Official First Season
Fifty years ago, in 1959, even before The Twilight Zone brought tales of the paranormal into living rooms, director/writer John Newland introduced TV viewers to the groundbreaking sci-fi anthology series One Step Beyond. Using real stories of ghosts, monsters, aliens and unexplainable events as a way to feed on our culture’s growing interest in the supernatural in the late 1950s and early 1960s, Newland (who also hosted the antho-series) created a television sensation. Digitally-remastered for its 50th anniversary, the 22 stand-alone episodes of the first season featured appearances by such TV legends as Cloris Leachman, Pernell Roberts, Mike Connors, Werner Klemperer and Ross Martin. Bonus Features: Extended pilot of “The Bride Possessed,” teasers for upcoming episodes at the end of each episode, an iconic series promo, the original Alcoa-sponsored opening and the Main Title Sequence.

CSI: Miami: The Seventh Season
Murders, robberies, rapes and kidnapping — times are rough, deadly and tough in Southern Florida, but it’s all in a day’s work for lead criminalist Horatio Caine (David Caruso) and his state-of-the-art forensics team as they investigate hot and steamy Miami crimes using cold hard facts. But you know you’re in trouble when Horatio’s sunglasses come off, and this season his shades hit the ground in one of the best nail-biting, cliffhanger season finales of the entire series run. Bonus Features: Audio commentaries on select episodes and four new featurettes.

Knights Of Bloodsteel
In a story reminiscent of such classics as Excalibur,  four fearless warriors fight to make sure that the coveted Bloodsteel, a sorcery-grade ore that imparts potent magical abilities to anyone who is able to draw it from the earth, does not fall into the wrong hands in a faraway land called Mirabilis. An original SyFy Channel film, the Philip Spink-directed Knights Of Bloodsteel is packed with fantasy stand-bys as an evil sorcerer, a goblin, a beautiful warrior and notable performances from Christopher Lloyd, David James Elliott and Natassia Malthe.

My Name Is Earl Season Four
In its regretfully fourth and final season, Earl Hickey (Jason Lee) and his band of hapless misfits — his dim-witted brother Randy (Ethan Suplee), Randy’s sexy girlfriend Catalina (Nadine Velazquez), Crab Shack owner Darnell (Eddie Steeples) and Earl’s ex-wife Joy (Jaime Pressly) — are back to help Earl is his always hilarious mission to right all of his previous wrongs. Fresh from a stint in prison, Earl gets into even more wackysituations as he tries to clean his karma. Making his final missions even more special are the comic guest performances from such television and film greats as Burt Reynolds, Danny Glover, Jenna Elfman, Betty White, Erik Estrada and Morgan Fairchild. Bonus Features: Deleted scenes, a gag reel, an all-new featurette and more.

Fame Seasons 1 + 2
With a reinterpretation of the original motion picture about to hit big screens later this month (September 25), fans can relive the first two seasons (1983-’84) of this small-screen adaptation of Fame. A stylized look at the highs and lows experienced by the students that attend the New York City High School for the Performing Arts, this 38-episode, nine-disc collection features award-winning choreographer Debbie Allen as Lydia Grant, a faculty member who guides the gifted students through discouragement and disappointment as they struggle for a spot in the cutthroat entertainment industry. Loaded with the same outstanding choreography and popular original songs that made the original film as box office hit, Fame, the series would win multiple Golden Globes for bringing drama, music and dance to life. Bonus Features: Exclusive “Fame: Then and Now” featurette.

Bonanza: The Official First Season Volumes One + Two
It was 50 years ago, today (give or take), that patriarch Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene) and his sons Adam (Pernell Roberts), Hoss (Dan Blocker) and Little Joe (Michael Landon) rode out from their home at the thousand-acre Ponderosa Ranch into television and cultural history. Finally making its long overdue way onto DVD, the First Season of Bonanza — one of the longest running and most popular television westerns — comes on two collectible sets featuring all 32 full-length brilliantly remastered episodes. Television’s first regular hour series in color, for 14 seasons, Bonanza followed the Cartwright clan and their high-Sierra adventures during an era of violence and lawlessness in the middle of the 19th century. Bonus Features: Rare alternate pilot ending where the Cartwrights sing the Bonanza theme song, NBC promos, archival interviews with creator David Dortort, featurettes and a photo gallery for many episodes.

John Carpenter: Master Of Fear Collection
Carpenter has justifiably been dubbed the Master Of Fear for introducing the slasher genre to movie-going audiences (with the classic Halloween), and this incredible collection includes four of his most frightening films. The DVD set features Carpenter’s remake of The Thing, the terrifying tale of a team of an Antarctic researchers battling an unknown being; They Live in which a pair of sunglasses is the only way to tell if someone is a human being lulled into submission or a deadly alien; Prince Of Darkness, featuring Satan himself and after a canister filled with a strange liquid begins to turn students into zombies; and Village Of The Damned, about a strange group of youngsters, with seemingly unknown but dark forces, begin to take over a small coastal town.

The Wes Craven Horror Collection
Considered one of the kings of terror, horrormiester Wes Craven makes  skin-crawling, spine-tingling films best known for their combination of inventive storytelling, stunning visual effects, and dark humour. His work is best represented by his these three masterworks: in The Serpent and The Rainbow, Bill Pullman plays an anthroplogist who travels to Haiti where he meets up with zombies and very nearly becomes a member of the walking dead club himself; in Shocker, video almost kills the athletic star (Peter Berg) when a death row killer travels through electricity to avenge his death; and Ving Rhames plays a thief who ends up with more than household electronics and jewelry when he discovers diabolical creatures in The People Under The Stairs.

Marvel X-Men Volume 3 • Marvel X-Men Volume 4
Taken straight from the pages of original Marvel comic books and delving deeper into X-Men legacy and lore than any of the live-action pictures have screen time for, this definitive animated series is essential viewing for even the most casual X-Men fan. Volume 3 (on two discs) features the legendary Dark Phoenix/Jean Grey saga, while Volume 4 includes the four-episode story arc about Apocalypse going insane.

NOW ON BLU-RAY

Army Of Darkness: Screwhead Edition
The evil Deadites are out for more than just blood in director Sam Raimi’s cult classic. But the gun-toting, chainsaw-armed, time-traveling Bruce Campbell is out to stop them for good and get back to the 20th century in this outrageous, effects-packed horror comedy. Bonus Features: Alternate ending, exclusive featurette, BD LIVE! and U-Control: production photos.

Van Helsing
Hugh Jackman portrays the legendary monster slayer in this movie from Stephen Sommers (The Mummy and The Mummy Returns). With British beauty Kate Beckinsale by his side, he not only takes on his arch-enemy Dracula, but throws down with Frankenstein and the Wolf-Man, too. Bonus Features: Audio commentaries, six featurettes, D Box Motion Enabled, BD-LIVE! and U-Control: picture-in-picture.

The Legend Of Drunken Master
North American audiences got their first good look at action legend Jackie Chan in this Chia-Liang Liu-directed classic and never turned back. Chan plays a man who utilizes “Drunken Boxing,” his own brand of outlandish martial arts, to steal back ancient Chinese artifacts from the English, and Drunken Master would transform Chan into an international superstar. Bonus Feature: “Behind the Master: An interview with Jackie Chan” featurette.

Zatoichi
Written, directed and starring Japanese cinema legend Takeshi Kitano, the highly-stylized, award-winning film is a fight-filled tale of Japanese folk legend Zatoichi, a blind, nomadic samurai whose sword has made him a hero and whose courage has made him a legend. Bonus Features: A behind-the-scenes special and video interviews with cast and crew.

American Werewolf In London
In this digital, Hi-Def overhaul of filmmaker John Landis’ macabre horror movie-meets-black comedy monster movie (featuring Oscar-winning make-up by Rick Baker), the sights and sounds are even more ghastly, freaky and scary than they were in its original 1981 theatrical. A movie ahead of its time … Werewolf still rips your heart out.

Hero
An ingeniously choreographed martial arts epic, Hero catapulted martial arts master Jet Li to stardom. As a warrior who embarks on a life and death mission of revenge, Jet Li’s incredible fists-a-flying performance helped to score Hero a well-deserved Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Bonus Features: Three featurettes, storyboard comparisons, soundtrack spot and a Digital Copy.

Hannibal Lecter Anthology
Okay Clarice, here’s you chance to hear and see the stylish, cannibalistic Dr. Hannibal Lecter nice and clear on Blu-ray. First introduced in director Michael Mann’s Manhunter big screen thriller, Dr. Lecter and his cinematic alter-ego, Anthony Hopkins, would rise to fame and become everyone’s favorite mad man in the tasty The Silence Of The Lambs. The Hannibal follow-up would forever cement the doctor’s status as an iconic contemporary flesh-loving lunatic. Now, see all three sides of Hannibal Lecter in glorious 1080p Hif-Def and 5.1 DTS-HD sound. Would you like white or red wine with that liver, mam?

Iron Monkey
A fine mix of action, humor and heart, Iron Monkey is a Kung-Fu classic without equal. Presented by Quentin Tarantino and starring Donnie Yen in the lead role as the mysterious hero, Iron Monkey was directed by famed action choreographer Woo-ping Yuen, the man behind the stunning action sequences in films such as The Matrix and Kill Bill. Bonus Features: Quentin Tarantino interview and Donnie Yen interview.