Hugh Jackman was ''thrilled'' to play a villain.

The 'Wolverine' actor - who stars as the villainous Vincent Moore in 'Chappie' and Blackbeard in 'Pan' - is known for his heroic roles but believes it is better playing the antagonist because he doesn't get ''beaten up'' throughout the whole movie.

He told Collider.com: ''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.''

Despite being excited to finally play the villain, the 46-year-old actor doesn't consider his character in the sci-fi thriller to be an ''archetypal'' one.

He said previously: ''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.''