As the special extended cut edition DVD of The Punisher hits shelves soon, star Thomas Jane talked with IGN about what drew him to the character for the 2004 film.
"I guess as a kid I'd probably heard of him," Jane said. "It's a pretty popular comic book. But I never read the book or anything; I wasn't really into Marvel or DC or anything like that. I did read comics growing up, more the science fiction and horror stuff really. And that's why I initially turned down the part, because I didn't want to play a superhero. I wasn't interested in it."
What drew him to it? "Then they kind of pointed out to me -- sent me some of the books -- that he wasn't really a superhero," Jane continues. "He's more like a crazy vigilante. I like that, I was intrigued by that. I like Frank Castle. He's cool."
IGN says: "The extended cut of the film has more than 17 minutes of additional material inserted into its running time, including an animated scene that takes place in Kuwait during Castle's early years as a soldier. Also included on this new DVD are a gallery that takes the viewer through the history of the Punisher in the comics and a featurette about the making of the extended cut."