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I had never come across the 'X-Men' comics till I was asked to play Magneto, so I just jumped into that job.

Magneto wants to cope with the difficulties thrust upon him by society and by his own nature.

Of course, everyone would like to play a superhero, but this is by no means me saying I would like to go play Cyclops.

I love a straightforward character. I am the guy who loves Cyclops on the 'X-Men', because he is square.

Magneto has a whole lot of complexity to him. Emotionally, he's coming from a very damaged place. I like the ambivalence of it. I want the audience leaving the theater wondering, asking the questions themselves rather than being spoon-fed like a lot of these super-villain characters.

'Magneto' is a tragic figure. He is a man who has stared right into the face of ultimate evil... and he was broken into pieces by what he saw. When he healed, he healed stronger, but he also never fully recovered.

The great thing about 'X-Men' is that it takes characters that are quite firmly established in the comics and puts them in new contexts.

I think 'Magneto' is definitely an anti-hero. He's fighting for the right thing, but his methods are far too extreme. He's not above breaking the law, stretching the limits of what is moral and putting evil to work for good.

We love Cyclops and as you know, we love James. It's a great team and we'll continue the team, obviously.

Writing 'Magneto' as part of a team took a little getting used to.