"This is madness, I love it," Bill Nighy said as he wandered around at his first Comic-Con to promote "Underworld: The Rise of the Lycans," the prequel in the supernatural franchise that is due next year.

"I saw a fellow with a stake through his chest and blood splattered on his shirt, a woman dressed as a hunchback, a Terminator, some super-heroes...God bless them all."

The British actor was delighted to hear that some fans were also prowling the venue in the tentacles of Davy Jones, his cursed and maurading mariner from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise.

"I feel quite at home here. I've been a zombie, a vampire and a squid," he said, referring to roles in "Shaun of the Dead," "Underworld" and "Pirates."

"All considered," he told me backstage, "I'm quite legitimate here at Comic-Con."

Nighy is back in the "Underworld" role of bloodsucker Viktor in the films, which means that sometimes instead of delivering lines he finds himself rasping and snarling at his fellow cast members. "I get to wear a battle skirt -- how often does that happen? -- and fangs, and I hiss. Sometimes we have entire scenes where we don't speak, we just hiss. They're hissing matches."

-- Geoff Boucher

Bill Nighy photographed at Comic-Con 2008 by Spencer Weiner/Los Angeles Times