Hugh Jackman Talks X-Men Sequel

"This is all Hugh Jackman," he bragged, pointing to his dome while relaxing between takes in Vancouver, British Columbia. "Let me tell you, this may look ridiculous to you now, but when I'm not in uniform it looks particularly ridiculous. If you're going around Vancouver, [you might see] my stunt double and my stand-in, all with these very silly muttonchops going on. And when this [hair] doesn't have two cans of hairspray in it, I look like Moe from the Three Stooges. It's all just exactly the same length. So it is me, uh, sacrificing for my art."

Director Bryan Singer's take on the comic book tale of mutants and their struggle to coexist in a world that hates and fears them was a smash. "X-Men 2" reunites many of the first movie's cast members — Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen and Rebecca Romijn-Stamos among them — while introducing new characters, like Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler.

"I've got a much bigger trailer and I've got an entourage now," joked Jackman, who's made two romantic comedies and an action flick since his "X-Men" debut. "It is bigger, actually, in every way. Fox has given [the movie] more money. The action is twice as good, twice as much. I think it's more intense. My character certainly kicks some ass — a lot more butt kicking than I did in the first one, which is always good. It's good therapy. And I think it's funnier. I have to say it's a better movie than the first one. You get to explore the characters in a deeper way and the story in a deeper way."