Behold Blackwing

Lost star Dominic Monaghan discusses his role in Wolverine as Barnell Bohusk

Tell me about your character, Barnell Bohusk?

I play a guy called Barnell who is a mutant and has the ability to manipulate electricity; he is someone that lives in his mind a lot and is quite a shy character. He isn't physically able like Wolverine is but mentally his is quite sharp and strong.

Were you a fan of the comic book and/or the character before taking the role?

Not necessarily the comic books but I'd seen the films and enjoyed them.

Was it a demanding role to play?

Certainly in terms of scheduling it ws demanding. I got a call from a producer at Fox that I knew and was asked to read the script that was on a Thursday then I called him on a Friday morning and said, "Look, I enjoyed the script" and I said that I liked it and thought that I could do it. So I was told that Fox might be calling me in the next few days to talk to me about getting involved with the film. They called me up and put me on a plane to Sydney that day, so I flew on the Friday, got there on the Sunday, and started work on the Monday. So in terms of scheduling it was quite challenging. That's how it goes a lot of times these days with films; you just have to go with it.

How did you find working with Hugh Jackman?

Hugh Jackman is incredibly impressive in the movie. You know, he's this big six foot four Aussie blocke who is well conditioned, he looks like a weapon or one of hose Marvel toys -- he actually looks like one of those things you pull out of the box. He just owns the movie; he's in almost every scene and is just incredible in it.

How does the Wolverine/Sabretooth rivalry play out?

I think that's one of the main cruxes of the movie. They have this backwards and forwards protection of one another while also hating each other at the same time. They've built this almost Shakespearean duality between the two of them.

How do you think director Gavin Hood's efforts on this feature film will differ from the previous three X-Men movies?

I think he did an amazing job. He was incredibly dedicated to trying to bring as much darkness, depth and cadence to all these characters and give everyone a fair crack of the whip. Not only is he a hugely affable guy, he is also walking the tightrope between making money and art -- this is something that he achieved effortlessly.

The film is bound to spawn spin-offs. Are you contracted for the future outings as The Beak?

I don't think so -- I haven't really read the small print on my contract.

Did you bear witness to any big action set pieces?

Nothing speciffically I can talk about otherwise Fox will ring my neck.

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