Taylor Kitsch wondered whether his John Carter director "had a vendetta" against him while filming.

The 30-year-old Canadian-born actor plays the eponymous leading role in the upcoming Andrew Stanton helmed science-fiction action film. John Carter is a legendary comic superhero, created by American author Edgar Rice Burroughs in 1912, who battles wars on Mars.

Throughout shooting, Taylor filmed extremely physical scenes under Andrew's direction.

The actor laughed about what a toll the hardcore sequences took on his body.

"There were many times when I personally thought that [Andrew] had a vendetta," he joked to Cover Media.

"But he made a great point when we were filming, I don't know whether that was to motivate or what, but it was The more we beat you up, the more you're going to be liked!'"

Taylor trained rigorously to take on the challenges of this role.

"To say the least, this was by far the most exhausting thing I've ever been a part of," he shared.

Taylor is aware of the great importance of his role. He is hopeful that his performance will satisfy both diehard comic book fans and general movie lovers.

"I think it's just being honest to the character," Taylor explained.

"It's funny, once I first got the role, you're in the mix for a while, and for months on end I was saying to myself if I got the role, I was going to get comic book big.' But then when I got the script and the role I wanted to get the happy medium between the escapism and also staying real. So I'm very happy with the happy medium we have."

John Carter is released in UK cinemas from March 9 2012.